Humanity's Last Hope Part One:Caged Cities and Underestimated Souls
by AttackonKorra26
Summary: On that day, at that terrible moment, we knew in our hearts that nothing will ever be the same. That everything changed. Our walls were a pen. Titans, were the wolves. Humanity, the cowardly sheep. We lived in fear of the Titans and were ashamed to have cages surround our city.
1. Prologue

The Fall of Raven District

_I was born with a unique gift. The ability to do what no other human being has ever been able to do before. It's all mixed up in my head. The sights. The sounds. The smell. I need to remember. Put things in order right up to this moment. Remember who I am. The people that surround me with love and encouragement. Remember who the enemy really is. If I had to say how it all began... I might just as well start here._

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><p>'Mako! You must get the amulet! It's the only way to know what really happened! I'm sorry, but this is the only option I have! One day you'll understand!'<p>

'No, Dad! Mom! Dad! No!'

'What's going on?! Why is this happening?!'

'Oh, no! The amulet!'

'Mako, no! Stay with the group! Stop! Mako! Mako!'

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><p>"Mako! Mako! Come on! Wake up!" a familiar, feminine voice shouted and he was violently shaking.<p>

Mako shot up with a shriek, waking up in the process. He panted with widened eyes as he stared at his comferter on top of his lap. It felt like he was in an oven, he was too hot and sweating buckets from head to toe. Everything was a blur at first but over time, he could see clearly just like the night before. A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts, "Again?"

He looked to the side with tired eyes and saw his twelve-year-old friend. Waking to those emerald eyes, curly, long black hair, and concerned face was the mix of good and evil. She was always defending and protecting him from bullies but also concerned about what was going on in his brain. She tilted her head to the side and repeated her question, "Was it the nightmare? Did it happen again?"

Mako groaned and asked, "Asami, what are you doing here?"

"I came to help you and Bolin go pick the fruit this morning, remember? Besides, your mom has been screaming for you to get out of bed. Get dressed and we'll head out, okay?" Asami said as she got up off his bed and left his bedroom.

Mako groaned in frustration. This was the third time this week. For at least seven months, the nightmare kept haunting him in his sleep. What does it mean? He asked himself that all the time. It was just a stupid dream, at least that's what he told himself. Twice a week, Asami would come over to help with their chores to keep her from trouble and being bored half to death all the time. So, to spare himself the trouble, he got up and started to get dressed. Once he was dressed, Mako grabbed his basket and headed downstairs. Once he was outside, he only saw Asami. He shrugged his shoulders and thought Bolin was in the field already. So, him and his friend started walking. For over three centries, the five nations, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, Southern and Northern Watertribes, Air Nomads, and the United Republic, have lived in uneasy peace. Capitals and small cities were built with walls surrounding the entire perimeters. They each had three sections. In Republic City, there was the Raven District, which was some suburben areas and held off the eneimes. The middle walls, the Pheonix District, which was the main areas where most of the population was. Last, the inner walls, the MockingJay District, where the ruler or council lived and was protected.

For over three centries, they lived in fear and shame of these giant, blood thirsty creatures they called Titans. Over 60% of the human race was wiped out almost over night. The survivers built the cities and kept them outside the walls. Now, in the year of 1925, it was a year they would never forget. Things weren't as they used to be. More scouts were either getting killed or go missing while hunting in Titan Country. The land was sinking into a famine and winter was fast approaching. Even though it's not as peaceful as it used to be, things couldn't get any worse.

After a couple of hours of picking fruit, Asami and Mako decided to head back to town. They hadn't seen Bolin yet, which made them concerned. When they got to the gate, the pair ran into some Wall Patrol scouts. A man with short, brown hair and grayish-blue eyes came up to them and asked "Hey, Mako, Asami, what's up?!"

Mako thought it was stupid that the patrol scouts weren't actually scouting on the wall and doing their jobs. Instead, he finds them gambling and drinking up their precious memories. So, Mako sighs and says "Nothing much. Just coming from the picking fields. And, Hans, aren't you and your squad supposed to be protecting the wall."

"Don't worry. No Titan can get through those thick, concrete walls. It's perfectly safe inside." Hans said

"I wouldn't say that. Things are getting worse than you think. Over fifty soldiers haven't come back from the raids. Shouldn't the government be doing something about this?" Asami said with a serious expression on her face.

"Listen, why don't you let the government worry about their buisness and let us worry about our jobs. Now, run along and catch your brother before he gets into trouble again." Hans suggested.

Mako sighed and they started to walk back home. Bolin has always had a nack of getting into stupid situations, specifically getting pushed around by bigger kids. After a while of walking in silence, Asami spoke up, "Mako, you should let the Scout Regement thing go."

Mako looked at her in shock and said "What? Why would you say that?"

"Think about it. You're only thirteen years old. You're only allowed to join after you train and waste three years of your life in a Military School. Besides, you have to be over sixteen in order to join. If you join, you're going to be seeing a lot of blood and death. Do you honestly want to do that?" Asami explained grimly

Mako humphed and said "It's better than staying in this cage. To me, this place is more of a prison than a home. You wouldn't understand."

"Yeah, but don't you think living a long life here is better than sacrificing yourself and getting killed out there?" Asami said

She had a point. Becoming old and dying on your death bed is better than being ripped apart at a young age by a blood thirsty Titan. Although, in Mako's mind, it is better to do something out there than doing nothing in the city. It has been his life long dream to become a Raid Soldier and keep people safe. He didn't want to give up and he won't. No one could stop him. So, as an answer, Mako said "I'll think about it but, I'm not promising anyone anything."

Asami sighed but kept walking. Once they were at Mako's house, they poured the fruit into the box they had on the side of the house. The pair walked in to be greeted by his parents. His mother was a house wife while his father was a scientist and a doctor. "Hey, back so soon?!" his mother said from the kitchen.

The pair walked into the kitchen and Asami said "It was only Mako and I. For some reason, Bolin didn't show up."

"Oh, he probably just wanted to go see his friends. He'll be fine." his father explained as he packed some stuff in his suit case

"Going out again?" Mako asked as he sat at the table

"Yes, one of the patients outside in the mountains. It'll only be a few days." his father explained.

Asami sighed, she can't take the fact that she was keeping Mako's secret about wanting to become a soldier. So, she slammed her fists on the table and shouted "Mako wants to become a scout!"

Everyone stood, frozen from her statement. Mako growled and gave her a death glare. His mother slowly turned around with a shocked look on her face and dropped the plate, which shattered on the floor. She ran toward Mako, grabbed his shoulders, and shouted, "You get that insane idea out your head, young man! It's dangerous out there!"

Mako growled, pushed her off his shoulders, and shouted, "Will you stop babying me! I'm not a child anymore! I'm old enough to make my own decisions!"

"You're my child. For heaven's sake, Mako, what on earth are you thinking! You could get killed!" she shouted back at him.

"Don't you think I already know that!" Mako yelled.

"San!" she called for her husband.

He just looked down at his lap and thought for a moment. He knew this would happen someday. So, he got up, put on his hat, and said "He's just thirteen, Carly. He has time to think about his decision."

"San, at least scold the boy. I can't have a dead son." Carly begged.

San opened the door , "Scolding him didn't do us any good the first time. It would be a waste of time if I scolded him now. Don't worry. Mako, catch."

Mako caught a small necklace and saw that it was his father's amulet. He has been waiting a long time for this. He could finally see what was going on in his dad's basement. Mako smiled and put it around his neck. They went outside as San walked away from the house. Carly sighed and said, "I still mean it."

"What?" Mako asked.

"I still mean it. I don't want you becoming a soldier. I don't want you killed." Carly spoke gently.

Mako rolled his eyes and ran up the street. Asami looked at Carly and ran after him. Ever since their grandmother died, Mako has been fighting and refusing on certain subjects with his mother. He barely listened to anything she said. Didn't obey what he was told to do. The boy could never grow up. Things couldn't get any worse in this family, could it?

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><p>Bolin grunted as he was pushed against a red, bricked wall. This was messed up. The same three boys that picked a fight with him this morning were tossing and pushing him around. Since he wasn't the strongest in his neighborhood, the big kids always bossed him around. He grunted as he felt another bony fist make contact with his jaw. Bolin spit blood out of his mouth while the guy punching him said "You better take that back you piece of crap!"<p>

Bolin chuckled and said "Why? Can't face the truth?"

"Why you little-" he was cut off by a familiar voice

"Get away from him you bastards!" Mako yelled as he ran towards them.

The three boys gave him nervous looks. The guy holding Bolin let go and they ran in the opposite direction in fear. They knew whenever Mako was around, Asami would be with him. She scared them with her scary face. Bolin coughed as he fell to his knees. They had taken a beating out of him since this morning. Once he caught his breath, he got to his feet and faced his and Asami. He was covered in cuts and bruises. Mako gave a serious look, and he looked down in shame.

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><p>"Okay, what happened this time?" Mako asked, crossing his arms over his chest.<p>

They were by a canal watching the water go by. After an hour of cleaning him up, they went to their favorite place in the city by their house to talk. Bolin sighed and answered, "I told them the walls won't keep us safe from the Titans forever."

"Even though that's true doesn't mean you have to say it." Mako said.

"I know, I was angry. Ya'll know I'm not the biggest or even the toughest guy around the block." Bolin said

"Your size doesn't matter to them. They just want to pick a fight with weak links." Asami said.

"Yeah, you're right." Bolin sighed.

After a few minutes of silence amoung the trio, Mako sighed and said,"Mom and Dad know about the scout thing."

Bolin's eyes widened, "Really?"

"Yeah, Mom freaked out. Dad didn't do anything, which I thought was weird." Mako explained.

"Ya know, I meant it when I said the walls can't protect us forever. Sure, for three centries we haven't had any incidents, but it won't last forever. We're at uneasy peace right now. Sooner or later, it'll be the end of us all. Things like protection and life don't last forever. But there has to be something beautiful and new out there, beyond these walls, right?" Bolin said.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a giant lightning bolt cracked in the sky and powerful wind sped through the city, and caused heavy things and cars to swirl all over the place and crash into buildings. Everyone screamed and started running for cover. Once it stopped, everyone ran to the center of town near the canal. The trio gave curious looks and ran toward the crowd. Mako saw everybody staring at something. When he looked up, he gasped, widened his eyes, and froze. Right there, at the top of the wall, was a huge, red hand squeezing the concrete wall. Then, something stuck out from behind the wall. It was a head. It looked like a corpse except covered in muscles but not its jaw. As it stuck it's head out from behind the wall, Mako said "It's... It's a Titan."

"How is that possible? The wall is over 50 meters high." Bolin said as he shook violently out of fear and panic.

No one moved when the Titan looked around. Out of nowhere, there was a loud bang, making the ground shake. Then, the Titan disappeared. All of a sudden, there was rumbling. It was getting closer and closer. Suddenly, a large figure appeared in sight. Then, someone shouted "They're in! The Titans are in!"

That's when people started to scream and run out of panic. The Titans started walking towards the crowds. Bolin turned to face Mako, but Mako was already running towards the house. Asami followed him. Bolin outstretched his hand but used his other hand to put it down. He started to shake, tears forming in his eyes, and said to himself "This is it. The Titans are in. It's no longer our home. It's our hell. This is the end of us all!" He cried

Mako and Asami ran as fast as they could. Everything was falling to pieces, people were dead, everyone screaming and running. Mako's breathing got heavy. It was too much for him to take. This is chaos. 'Don't worry. We'll be fine. Once we turn the corner, our house will be standing there. Just like always.' Mako told himself.

But when the pair turned the corner, Mako felt his heart drop to his stomach. There it was. The house wasn't a house, just a broken roof with pieces of wood scattered all over the street. Mako ran as fast as his legs could carry him. While running towards the wrecked house, Mako screamed "Mom! Mom!"

"Mako! Asami! Over here!" a familiar voice shouted.

The pair followed the voice and found Carly from the waist down buried under the broken roof top. Mako then said "Asami, grab that side and lift it with everything you've got!" to which, Asami said "Okay."

Carly opened her eyes and said "Oh, my son. Mako, Asami."

Then over all the screaming, Mako and Asami looked up in horror to see Titans walking all over the place. Mako turned to Asami and shouted "Come on! Keep lifting!"

"I'm trying!" Asami shouted back.

Carly looked up and said "It's the Titans. They're coming. Mako, get Asami out of here and run! Leave me! You must get out of the District!"

Mako groaned as he felt splinters going into his hands and causing them to bleed and bruise. While lifting the heavy debris, he shouted "I want to do that more than anything! But first I need you on your feet!"

"Mako, sweetheart, listen to me. My legs have been crushed. Even if you and Asami can get me out, I can't run. There's no time!" Carly's eyes welled up with tears.

Mako's eyes filled with water, he refused to let her die, and he shouted, "Whatever, I can carry you!"

Tears slid down her face as she yelled, "Will you stop being stubborn and listen to me for once! One thing I ask of you! One thing! Asami! Make him go with you!"

Asami had tears streaming down her face as she was begged by his mother to drag Mako away and run. She clentched her jaw and said, "No! No, we're not leaving you here to die!"

The rumbling got closer and bigger. A fifteen meter Titan was heading their way. Carly asked, "Do you want all three of us to die here?"

They heard the sound of metal straps flying towards them. They looked up and saw a familiar soldier. Carly's eyes widened and said, "Hans, take the children out of here and run!"

"Oh, come on. Carly that's not my only option. Don't worry, I'll save all three of you!" Hans said as he brought out his blade and ran towards the Titan.

"No! Hans stop! You can't fight it by yourself!" Carly screamed.

As Hans ran towards the creature, he thought to himself, 'She's right. I can't do this by myself. But no worries. No fancy moves. Just take it down and get them to safety.'

Although, when he saw the thing, he froze with fear. The Titan had short, brown hair with a smirk on it's face. The evil in it's eyes was so terrifying. It was like starring at death in the face. Hans groaned in frustration as he put his blade back and ran for the pair of children. As he picked up Mako and Asami, Mako screamed, "Hans, what the hell are you doing?! Put us down you bastard! We can't leave her behind! We still have a chance! No!"

Carly looked back and whispered, "Thank you, Hans."

"No! Stop! We can't leave her!" Mako screamed as he and Asami were carried away by the solider.

Carly outstretched her hand, with tears in her eyes, and shouted, "Tell Bolin I love him! All three of you, stay alive!"

Tears streamed constantly down her cheeks. She held her hand to mouth, closed her eyes, and sobbed. "I love you, my son. Goodbye."

The Titan got to the house and started to dig through the broken roof. While Hans carried them as he ran, Mako looked back and saw the horror that was laid out before his eyes. The Titan picked Carly up with both of it's hands. Tears streamed down his face. He outstretched his arm, as if reaching for her, and screamed, "No!"

He watched as his mother fought and struggled while the hungry animal held her in one of its hands. Carly slammed and punched to try and pull free from its grasp. The Titan flexed its other arm, held the other half of Carly's body, and pulled. Mako gasped in fear. There she was, limp like a ragdoll in it's hand. Her body headed towards it's giant, bloody mouth. Asami look back with her eyes widened. Mako wanted to look away and not see the horror about to reveal to the world but the shock in his mind and body kept him frozen in place. When Carly was in it's mouth, the Titan chomped down on her. Blood scattered into the air and splashed on the ground. Mako and Asami couldn't stop looking. The fact that a terrible yet strong power had been shown right before their eyes was a petrifying window to their souls. They saw what Titans were capable of that day. They could never forgive. And they never forgot.

_On that day, at that terrible moment, we knew in our hearts that nothing will ever be the same. That everything changed. Our walls were a pen. Titans were the wolves. Humanity, the cowardly sheep. We lived in fear of the Titans and were ashamed to have cages that surround our city. Within a few hours, Raven District was history._

_To be continued..._

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><p><strong>Hello, everybody! This is my first fanfiction to actually post but this is the second story that I'm writing. Please review. And if you don't like it, don't review, okay. Please be nice.<strong>


	2. Chapter One

Hard Times

_Three hundred years ago, giant, humanoid creatures we called Titans first appeared from a big meteor shower. The Titans came on Earth to hunt with a taste for our blood. The strength and speed of these aperations were out of our reach of knowledge. The human race were on the brink of extinction almost over night. The many survivers rebuilt the cities and small villages that were once apart of our world's society. For three centries of uneasy peace, we have lived in fear and shame from the Titans in cages called walls that surrounded our city. Now, Raven District in Republic City has been overrun by Titans. Our home that was once filled warmth and love, was lost to us._

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><p>Chaos. That's the only word that describes the situation. One minute, everything was at peace. The next, Titans devouring inicents, people running for their lives. The walls were built to keep the Titans out and give inicent lives sanctuary. The last thing anyone would ask for was to be eaten or killed by a bunch of flesh eating monsters. Soldiers were trying to hold them off until all the civilians were out of the District. The panic that surrounded the city was incredibly terrifying. Every way you went, you trapped by a Titan or dead end of a building. Away from the chaos, Hans was still running with Asami and Mako in his arms. They had just witnessed his mother being devoured by a Titan. Once Mako regained concsiousness, he looked at Hans from his back, growled, and hit the top of Hans's head with his elbow. Hans stopped running and tried to stop Mako from attacking him. Asami looked up as Mako kept attacking Hans while screaming "You son of a bitch! We could've saved her! You bastard!"<p>

"Damnit, I said 'Stop'!" Hans shouted as he threw Mako to the ground

Asami squirmed out Hans arms and ran to Mako to see if he was okay. Mako sat up and faced her. He had a bruise on the side of his right eye and a small brush burn that was hardly bleeding on the side edge of his chin. Hans knelt down and said "Look, there's nothing you could've done, Mako. You're just a kid. You're weak."

Mako gasped as tears started to form in his eyes. At least he tried to save her. That stung his heart. He growled as he threw a punch towards him but Hans caught it and said "I'm worse. When push came to shove, I was too frightened. I knew I couldn't take it down by myself. I was too scared to die. This wasn't your fault. Your mother died because... "

Hans looked at Mako straight in the eye with tears coming down his cheeks and said "Because I was a damn coward! It's all my fault because I was too scared shitless to do anything!"

Mako gasped at the news he just recieved. He stopped to fight against him when calmed down. Hans stood up, grabbed Asami's hand while holding Mako's, and started walking. Mako kept looking at Hans in shock, in which, he closed his eyes as tears streamed down his face. He silently began to sob as Hans dragged him. Asami held her other hand to her forehead as tears came down her cheeks. She looked back and thought 'I hope Bolin and my dad made it out. Please be alive.'

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><p>On the otherside of the inner wall of Raven District, there was a river with three large boats that led to the inside of the Pheonix District. There were only three tunnels that led to the boats for evacuation. On one of the boats, Bolin was at the edge, looking for Asami, his brother, and mother. So far, he hasn't seen them, which was making him more uneasy by the minute. The people who were shouting and shoving through the crowd to get to the boats weren't neccessarily helping the situation at hand. The man next to him said "Son, calm down. They'll come."<p>

"Sorry but I can't help it. Your daughter is out there with my brother with the Titans. I hope they're okay." Bolin said as he sat down

Hiroshi Sato was Asami's father. Bolin ran into him during the evacuation run to the tunnels. They had been waiting for almost a half an hour to load the boats. Bolin then heard people argueing at the soldiers to let them on, so he turned around and couldn't believe his eyes. There they were. Mako and Asami being esscorted by Hans. Something stopped him for a moment, his mother was nowhere in sight. Something was off, where was she? Why wasn't she with them? Although, something else caught him off gaurd. Mako looked like he'd just seen a ghost and was crying. He also saw that tears were coming down both of their faces. Asami looked depressed or shocked. Bolin was about to call out to them but Hiroshi put a hand on his shoulder and said "Now might not be the right time to call out for them. Give them some space. God only knows what horrors they've witnessed."

"But that's not it. Where is my mother? She should be with them." Bolin said with a worried expression

Hiroshi's eyes widened as he realized what might happened back there. He looked down and said "I'm sorry, son. She might not be coming back."

Bolin gasped at this. Tears formed in his eyes as he sunk his chest into his knees and started to cry. Hiroshi rubbed his back to calm him down. This wasn't going to end well. This is a horrible nightmare waiting to happen.

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><p>On the otherside of the wall, civilians were still evacuating the city. Since people were going toward the tunnels in the wall, the Titans were being drown toward the wall. In order to get everyone out, the soldiers were ordered to defend them and keep the Titans from killing anyone else. Until everyone was out, they would be ordered to close the gate to keep the Titans from getting deeper into the city. While people were running past them, the soldiers loaded the canons and their guns. A captain then shouted "Come on! Hurry up magets! I need those damn canons loaded right now! I don't want a single canon empty! We need to stop them from advancing now!"<p>

"Sir, they're taking out our comrades! They're getting close!" a soldier shouted

The captain grabbed the deputy by his collar and said "Does it look like I care?! When I give you an order, you do it without stating facts or asking questions! When you're with me, you will follow my commands or I will have you shot! Understood?!"

"Y-Yes, sir!" the deputy said, fightened by his leader's statement

In which, the captain threw the deputy to the ground and kept shouting at the soldiers to keep firing. The canons weren't like the special guns they had. The guns could go in rapid fire for twenty seconds. The canons, however; can only shoot twice before taking another two minute reload. The Titans advanced closer to the gate, which made it even harder for the Regement to actually kill the animals. At every corner, Titans were knocking down buildings and causing huge holes in the streets. The captain's eyes widened and shouted "What the hell are you idiots aiming at?! For crying out loud, shoot the sons of bitches! Shoot 'em! Shoot 'em! Shoot 'em!"

When the canons and guns went off, the gate started to be brought down. The Regament stopped firing and started to leave their positions while the captain kept scowling at them to get back to their posts. Inside the lookout post, Hans was scowling and argueing with a deputy lookout."What are you doing?! We can't shut the gate now, we've still got civilians and soldiers down there!" Hans shouted

"We can't do anything about it! Even if some people don't make it, it'll give us a chance to escape! Besides, if the Titans get through the inner gate, the amount of deaths of keeping the human race from the brink of extinction will be the least of our problems!" the deputy stated

Hans eyes widened, in which, he grabbed the soldier's collar and said "Are you out of your mind?! It's not our job to decide whether who lives or dies! We're soldiers, not judges! Our job is to keep the human race protected, not to leave them as dinner for Titans!"

Then, a small group of soldiers came running past the door. One soldier stopped to catch his breath, looked at them, and said "We have to leave now! We're like sitting ducks out here! Come on, lets go! The Titans are closing the gap! Close the gate now!"

"That's it! Close the gate right now! We're getting the hell out of here!" the deputy shouted at the controlman while he pulled away from Hans's grasp

With that, two deputies held Hans back as he struggled to stop them. In the middle of shutting the gate, they heard big rumblings, bigger than normal Titan rumblings. It sounded like death coming. On the outside of the gate, by the river boats, everyone looked up and saw smoke near the gate. What could possibly be wrong this time? The soldiers stood their ground on the outside, but on the inside, they were petrified. What stood before them was the most impossible thing to have happened. Just five yards ahead of them was about a twenty meter Titan with giant muscles. It just stood there and stared at them. Then, it moved into a position to run. This snapped everyone back to reality. After a few minutes, the Titan took off in a full sprint towards the gate. The captains eyes widened and told them to rapid fire, but the explosions had no effect on it. This made them stop firing and froze with fear. The captain then shouted "Retreat! Close the gate! Everyone, get out of range!"

As they ran for their lives, the Titan took out the canons as it sprinted. Just as the soldiers entered the inner gate, the Titan broke through the wall and caused the soldiers to be blown through the air. Once it was on the otherside, it stopped and roared. It's roar sounded like a mix between a lion and a bull. Everyone froze and just stared at the muscular giant, who was just standing there. Mako looked at it with widened eyes and thought 'Oh, no. This is bad. This is very, very bad. Bolin was right.'

* * *

><p><em>News travels fast within any perimeter of a disaster. Within a few hours, every village, city, or town knew the unthinkable had happened. So, the Republic Council had a meeting to discuss the matter at hand.<em>

In the MockingJay District, in the center of the city, the Republic Council has been called to a special meeting about the situation. There were five council members, one from each nation. The Watertribe was reconasense. The Fire Nation was power. The Earth Kingdom was strength. The Air Nomads was peace. The United Republic was justice. They were all in the middle of discussing what was to be done. "Are you sure the Titans will be kept out of the inner gate? There are many possibilities of what other power they poccess." a Watertribe councilman said

"Now Cylus, may I remind you that these are Titans we're talking about. These blood thirsty, strong demons don't poccess knowledge of anything. They're stupid animals, not people." the Earth Kingdom councilman said

"I understand that, Thomas. I really do, but the world has been protected from the Titans for far too long. Think about it. For three hundred years, they've barely had anything to eat. They would have to have some intelligence of our survival and how our system works by now." Cylus pointed out

"I agree with Cylus. Ever since we first rebuilt our nations, we have lived in fear that this would happen one day. It's too oblivous." the Air Nomad said as he looked out the window

"But the wall has been able to protect us. The Raven District is strong and big enough to hold them off, don't you think? If we don't do something quickly, 12% of the city will be destroyed. Tenzin, what do you suggest we do?" Thomas said as he stood from his seat

Tenzin rubbed his chin and thought to himself for a moment. After a few minutes, he turned around to face them and said "If we can't make a decision, we must radio the central government in Alice Springs for help."

In which, they all noded in agreement. Then, out of nowhere, a soldier came running through the doors with a nervous expression. Once he reached them, he shouted "My Lords, you'll really need to hear this! There's been a breach in the inner gate in Raven District! The Titans, they're... they're in!"

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><p>A few minutes after the muscular Titan busted a hole through the inner gate, it just vanished into thin air. Within minutes, a large herd of Titans were advancing into the city. There were so many of them yet so little time to save everyone. There wasn't enough soldiers to defend their people. The boats were built to fit only five hundred people and there was over one hundred thousand people that made it through the tunnels. On all three boats, there was over fifteen hundred people all together. On land, Hans was at the top of a tower, watching the Titans advance towards them. He was beat up pretty bad. His clothes were torn and dirty. He had bruises all over his body. The only major wounds he had was a fractured leg, a few broken ribs, and a deep cut on the right side of his head, which blood was running down his face. As he watched, with his eyes widened, his body shaking, he said to himself "God help us all."<p>

While on the boats, Mako and Asami were sitting on the floor next to Bolin and Hiroshi. The kids that surrounded them were whispering about the end of them all or praying to have mercy on them. One even said that God has come to punish them for their sins. Mako was staring at the floor boards, trying to take in the most horrifying events that he had seen. Tears came down his face and landed in his bleeded and bruised hand as he thought to himself 'It's all gone. Our house. It's all just gone. Why was I always a jerk to her? Why did I always fight with her? When was the last time I told her I loved her? But, now that she's dead, I'll never get to.'

Then, the images of Carly being pulled apart and devoured by the Titan that killed her came to his mind. This made him turn his hand into a fist, clentched his jaw, and open his eyes with tears still coming down his face. This image made him furious. He got up to his feet and walked to the boats bars. Bolin reached for his shoulder while saying "What is it? Do you see something? Mako?"

Mako pushed his hand off his shoulder, gripped the bars, and shouted "I'm going to stop this! I'll destroy every single one of them! Even if it'll cost me my life!"

Bolin gasped at brother's statement. Sure, it was normal to get upset after seeing your mother get killed but, saying stuff like that is just plain crazy. Normal people wouldn't mean it but his brother isn't like everyone else. When Mako says he's gonna do something physically, mentally, or spiritualy, he will do it. When he said that he was going to destroy them, it made Bolin think he wanted to kill himself in battle. Right there and then, Bolin knew his brother would never be the same after what happened.

_From the position of Raven District's destruction, the central government declared it a lost cause and decreed that the survivers retreat behind the wall of Pheonix District. Refugee camps were filled with hungry and furious people. One-third of Raven District's population was killed off during it's destruction._

* * *

><p>'Mako! Give me your arm! I have to do this! The amulet will help you see the truth!'<p>

'Mako! No! Ahh! No!'

'It will kill you if you don't get out right now!'

'It's not fair! Why would you do this?!'

'Ahh! Mako, help! I'm out of gas! Mako!'

'You and I are one and the same. We're destined to defeat the Titans. Let's go.'

* * *

><p>Mako jolted awake in a cold sweat. What happened? Why was there so much chaos? And who was that girl that was smiling at him? He groaned as he sat up and held his forehead. He panted, trying to catch his breath. Why was the ground so hard? He asked himself that when he opened his tired eyes. Then, he heard Asami's voice say "Hey, you're awake. How are you feeling?"<p>

Mako looked to the side and saw Asami with a small, warm smile. He sighed and held his face in his hands. After a minute of silence between them, Mako rubbed his eyes and asked "Asami, what's going on? What are we doing here?"

Asami was taken back a minute. She squinted her eyes and asked "Don't you remember? We were on the boat and you passed out. You've been asleep for two days."

That's when Mako's eyes widened, it all came back to him. The wall being destroyed poped in his head, him and Asami trying to help get his mother out from under the broken roof. Her limp body in the Titans hand. Blood scattering all over the place. Through the air and onto the street. And all they could do was stand by and watch. Mako clentched his jaw as he realized what had happened. Asami set her hand on his and said "Hey, it's going to be okay. We're at a Refugee Camp in the Pheonix District. Don't worry, Bolin's with my dad trying to get food."

Mako looked at her and noded. Asami always knew how to calm him down whenever he was angry, depressed, sad, or frustrated. Asami then helped him stand up and they went to an old storage courtyard. People were fighting over food and water. There wasn't that much thanks to the famine last spring. Asami explained "I think this is where they used to store all the goods for winter. Now, it's just a useless Refugee Camp. They only have enough room for a certain amount of people. It was only a matter of time before this disaster happened."

"Hey, guys!" Bolin shouted while running with fruit in his arms

Once he got to them, he passed them moon peaches while saying "Glad I found you guys. Here, have some. Your dad was able to scramble a little extra by telling them he had kids. Eat up."

"As usual, trying to help others." Asami said before taking a bite of the sweat, tender peach

Mako smiled as he took a big bite out of the fruit. When he looked up, he saw Pheonix District officer giving an intimidated stare. Mako stared back in ignerance. The officer scoffed and walked away. Mako humphed and asked "What's his deal?"

"Just ignore it. The poor man's probably hungry. By the way, I'd make that peach last. They were already dealing with famine before we got here so, it's just lost cause for them." Bolin said as they watched people fighting over some bread and meat

"I can't believe we're giving food to a bunch of animals. But I guess we've gotta beef up the herd. Go ahead, faten up. The Titans like some meat on those bones." the officer said

This made Mako angry. They don't know what his people have been through. Family's torn apart. Orphans being put on the street. Childless parents. Losing their homes. Mako growled as he stomped his way towards the officer. Bolin tried to stop him but Mako just brushed past him, making him fall to the ground. When he got to the pair, he kicked the officer in the shin, making the man shout "Ow! Son of a bitch!"

The officer looked at Mako and punched him to the ground with his partner's help while saying "You picked the wrong man, you brat!"

Once he hit the ground, Mako faced them and shouted "Insects! Cowards! You're all a bunch of damn cowards! You've seen what they could do! You know what they're capable of! You don't know what it's like!"

This caught everyone's attention. The officer's eyes widened and gave a frutrated groan. He clentched his jaw and said "Why you little-"

Bolin had stepped in front of Mako to protect him while Asami checked to see if he was okay. Bolin said "Stop! He didn't mean it. He's just hungry. We all get like that, right? Speak out of term? He's been through a lot. We've lost our mother and he witnessed her death. Forgive him, please."

In which, Bolin bowed as a sign of respect. The officer looked around him. He groaned in frustration and said "Yeah, well,... keep that mouth of his shut. In case he hasn't noticed, we're all hungry. Tell that brother of yours to show a little gratitude."

The officer then walked away. Bolin noded and turned around to face his brother and Asami. Bolin knelt down and set a hand on Makos shoulder, in which, Mako brushed it off and stood while saying "That's it. I'm done with their stupid charity. I will not going to deal with this shitty Refugee Camp and watch family's get torn apart."

* * *

><p>They had went to the sideline to talk with what Mako wanted to do. Mako sat on a small, bricked wall and thought to himself while his younger brother and Asami waited for him to speak. After a few minutes, Mako looked at them and said "That's it. I'm leaving and going back home to take back Raven District."<p>

"Wh-What? Oh, you're just saying that. That's just your stomach talking. You should eat." Bolin tried to reason with him

"No it's not! I'm being serious! The Titans deserve to be blown off the face of the Earth after what they had done! To hell with this! Here!" Mako shouted before throwing his one bitten peach at Bolin

Bolin caught the peach, looked at his brother, and said"What are you trying to do, starve yourself to death?"

"When are you going to get tired of their charity?! They've done nothing to help us! We have to stand on our own two feet! We have to fight!" Mako shouted

"To do what?! Get killed by a Titan! It's exactly what you told that man, I've never seen what they can do! I know I said our future had to be somewhere beyond the walls but what's the point of even trying!" Bolin shouted back

"So, that's it?! You're just going to give up just like that?! Even after what we've been through?! After losing Mom?!" Mako shouted with frustration

"What's the point?! Mom is gone! Sure, I was upset too, but it doesn't mean I would want to drive out there and get myself killed!" Bolin yelled

"I don't care! You didn't see what I saw! I'm not going to live the rest of my life in this goddamn prison! You can do that for all I care! I'm not going to get killed by one of those things! I'm not a parasite!" Mako yelled

This earned him a punch to the face. Asami had had enough of those two argueing. Mako was shoved to the ground, earning a bad brush burn. Bolin stared at the raven head in shock, she has never punched Mako in the face before. Mako groaned in pain as he rolled over to face them. Bolin then said "Asami? What?"

Asami put down her fist, sighed, and said "Haven't you looked in the mirror lately? We're all parasites. Hell, we can't even find food without looking for help. The Titans are at the top of the food chain. We're only humans, Mako. What can we do? We're guilty. We're parasites. Pride be damned, we do what we must. Your mother didn't ask us to be brave."

Asami then took the peach from Bolin's hand, walked over to Mako, and shoved the peach in his mouth. Bolin gasped and said "Asami, what are you-"

"Eat it! Your mother told us to stay alive. And I'm not going to let her down. I'm doing this as your friend, Mako. Just eat it." Asami said while forcing Mako to bite the peach. Mako knew she was right. Every single one of them were just a bunch of cowards. There was nothing left in this world for them. So, he just closed his eyes as tears came down his cheeks. What was the purpose of living in a world like this?

* * *

><p><em>A few days later, throngs of starved Refugees were put to plow in the waste lands as a lastage effort to raise food. But the cold, hard ground heal did nothing. And the following year, eight hundred forty-six, the remaining Refugees old enough to serve in the military were tasked with reclaiming Raven District. Of the ten hundred sent, nearly 20% of the surviving population. Not even a hundred made it back. While it did nothing to drive back the Titans, their sacrifice did at least lessen the effects of famine within the interior.<em>

The city has never been silent before, at least not during the day. It seemed as if the city itself was depressed and lonely. In Republic City, in Pheonix District, not a soul was in sight. Outside of a small apartment on the steps, Asami held a Future Industries Chief jacket. It was her father's. He too was part of the Failed District Territorial Retrieval Operation and was killed. She clentched her jaw as she stared at the jacket. Asami then pulled the jacket to her chest, closed her eyes as tears came down her face, and sobbed. Ever since her mother died, he was the only family she had left. It wasn't fair.

While she sobbed into the jacket, Bolin and Mako came outside and saw her crying. They know what had happened, the general who led the operation had come to the apartment and told them what happened and gave them his jacket. Bolin sighed, walked over to her, sat next to her, and hugged his best friend to comfort her. Mako clentched his jaw and fists and said "We have to do something. We can't just sit by and watch people get killed. It doesn't matter where we go, this world will never be home."

He then sat on the otherside of Asami. Mako looked up at the sky and said "Next year I'm going to apply to join the Cadetes. That means I'm not going to be running anymore. To become stronger to fight back."

The pair hugging gasped while looking at him. He'd have to be crazy to join the Cadetes. Although, he did have a point. Getting a chance to finally be able to defeat their enemy. So, Bolin stood up and said "Me too."

Mako looked at him in shock and said "You don't have to-"

"Yes, I do! I'm tired of running and being scared all the time. Besides, you're my brother. Where ever you go, I go." Bolin interrupted him

"I'm going to apply as well." Asami said with tears still coming down her red cheeks

"Damnit, I'm not trying to drag you guys in! There's no point in following me to my death!" Mako tried to reason with them

"Yeah, and if Bolin and I can't help it, than it won't be your death." Asami said

Mako was taken back a minute. It was suicide but, it was brave. So, he then stood up and said "Alright, together then. Together we will take them down."

* * *

><p><span>One Year Later<span>

Just about 25 miles in the mountains outside of Ba Sing Se, there was a 40 acher camp. In the main courtyard, over two thousand recruits were in their rows. Young and old people from all over the world. "Straighten those spins, pissheads! The two hundred ninty-fourth Cadete Corp Bootcamp starts now! Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Commander Riley! You will only call me Commander or Sir! And you will grow to hate me! Training is going to be a white knuckle ride through hell! If I've done my job, you'll be waking up in a cold sweat with memories of this place every night for the rest of your miserable lives! Right now, you're nothing! Livestock! But over the next three soul crushing years, you'll learn to take down your own Golieth! Remember this moment when you ask yourself, am I a fighter or am I feed?! Am I going to be grounded into human crisp boulder sizen sizers or am I going to the one to bite?!" Commander Riley shouted his introduction

In the fourth row ten people to the left, Mako narrowed his eyes while spueezing his hands together. He wore the Cadete uniform. Everything except his shirt was apart of it. His jacket had a pair of gold and black wings as a symbol of the United Republic. The Earth Kingdom symbol was a dark red and white rose. The Fire Nation symbol was an orange flame. The Southern Watertribe was a large circle, in the circle was a white cresent moon and on the side were blue waves. The Northern Watertribe was the symbol of Yin and Yang. The Air Nomads symbol were giant, blue arrows in the shape of a cross. As the Commander spoke, Mako thought to himself _'_Oh, I'm a fighter alright. And before I'm finished with them, the Titans will grow to aim for me.'

_To be continued..._


	3. Chapter Two

The Savage Girl

_In the year of 1925, two terrifying new breeds of Titan first appeared. The Cloud and the Clone. With their help, the Titans invaded and destroyed Raven District in Republic City. Which forced the civilians to completely retreat behind the wall of Phoenix District. Over 20% of the city's population was lost. For a year, the central government tasked eight hundred forty-six of the fifteen hundred survivors to take back Raven District. After a year of trying, they failed and our home was a lost cause. They left it in ruins. Now, it's our time._

* * *

><p>It's been two years since the fall of Raven District, and now a new generation of soldiers have come out of their comfort zone and are ready to take back what was once theirs. It was at the Raging Dragon Refugee, a Military School, nearly 25 miles into the mountains outside of Ba Sing Se. Commander Riley had just finished his speech and is now walking around the large crowd of recruits. He then stopped and looked at Bolin. The Commander then said "Hey, mud top!"<p>

In which, Bolin quickly set his right fisted hand on his heart said "Sir!"

"What do they call you, maget?!" Commander Riley asked

"Bolin O'Ryan from Raven District, Republic City, Sir!" Bolin answered

"Whoa, seriously, why would your parents curse you with such a dumb name?!" Riley shouted

"It was my grandmother, Sir!" Bolin answered

"Cadete Bolin, why is a runt like you here?!" Commander asked

"To help humanity overcome the Titans!" Bolin shouted as he closed his eyes

"That is delightful to hear, you're gonna make a great midnight snake for 'em! Row three, about face runt!" the Commander said as he set his hand on the top of Bolin's head and turned him around

He then walked around, narrowing his eyes at everyone. He then spotted a tall boy. The boy had bright, blue grayish with blackish blue hair that floped on one side of his face. The Commander growled as he walked over to him. He faced the boy and asked "What do we have here?!"

"Tahno Kato, Sir! From Haven Rose, Republic City!" Tahno answered

"And why are you here Cadete?!" Commander asked

Tahno gulped and said "To join the Military Police, Sir! The best of the best!"

Mako narrowed his eyes at Tahno. He was so stupid. Tahno gulped and stood still, waiting for Commander Riley to answer. Riley then said "That's nice. You want to live in the interior, do ya?"

This made Tahno smile and answer "Yes."

But then, Commander Riley punched Tahno in the stomach. This made him groan in pain and fall to the ground. He held his stomach while shaking in pain. Riley then shouted "No one told you to sit, recruit! If you can't handle this Kato, then forget about joining the Military Police!"

Riley then walked up to the boy next to Tahno with an angry face and shouted "What the hell is wrong with your face, you smiling idiot?!"

"My name is Marco Shyna from Su Yong village, south side of Misty Palms Oasis, Sir! My dream is to fight and live a life in the loyalty of the President of the United Republic!" Marco answered with a smile on his face

"Well then, that makes you an idealistic fool, and a roob. You want the truth?" Riley said

The Commander then got closer to his face with an imitating expression. Marco then gave him a nervous look as he got in his face. Riley then said "The only use the president has for your life and limbs are as Titan fauter."

This made Marco gulp and give a nervous laugh. Commander Riley then looked to the boy next to Marco, walk up to him, and say "Hey, cube ball, you're up next."

The short, thin haired boy looked up at Riley, widen his eyes, and say "Oh, me? Conner Mori from Alice Springs, Sir!"

He had his left hand on the right side of his chest instead of over his heart. This made Commander Riley grab the base of Conner's skull, picked him up, and said "You have it backwards, Conner Mori. That was the first thing you were taught. This salute represents the resolve in your heart to fight those assholes! Is your heart on your right side?!"

Then, there was the sound of a crunch. Commander Riley looked to the side and saw a girl with a vegetable in her hand. She had dark red hair in a ponytail, hazel eyes, and chubby cheekbones. She took another bite, swallowed, and looked at the Commander. He just stood there wide eyed and frozen. No one has ever interrupted him while having a conversation with a recruit before. So, he narrowed his eyes at her, let go of Conner's skull, making him fall to the ground, and said "Hey, you. What do you think you're doing?"

The girl then looked around while chewing. This was bad. Commander Riley came up to her and shouted "You are officially on my shit list! Just who the hell are you?!"

She then swallowed her food, set her fist on her heart, and answered "Molly Ota from Zhou Fu, home of the Metal Clan! Reporting for duty, Sir!"

Riley lifted his chin and said "Molly Ota, huh? And what is that you're holding in your hand there?"

"A radish, Sir! It sat in the field begging to be eaten. So, I gave it shelter in my stomach, sir." Molly answered

"The theft, I understand. But why?" Riley asked

"It looked quit delicious, sir. And it was getting cold." Molly answered

"Why? Why would you eat it?" Riley asked again

Just when Molly was about to answer his question, a soldier came up to the commander and said "Sir, the exchange students from the Southern Watertribe are here. Should I bring them in?"

Commander Riley looked at her and answered "Yes, bring them in. I have a little speech for these retards about how things are going to work around here. We will finish this discussion in my office."

The soldier bowed her head and ran to the gate. The recruits faced forward and stood still. After a few minutes, Commander Riley got up on stage, two students following behind. They were wearing these ski masks that covered their neck all the way up to the bridge of their noses, which they thought was odd. When they faced the crowd, they were told to take off their black coats and masks. One of them caught Mako's eye. It was the girl on the stage. His amber eyes widened. She had long, dark brown wavy hair, which was put up in a ponytail. Her tan skin sort of sparkled like diamonds. She was also kind of muscular. She was tall. The last, but not least, her bright, sky blue eyes. They were like sun light on the ocean waves. She was glowing.

Then, Commander Riley got in between, in front of them, cleared his throat, and shouted "Okay recruits, listen up! I have a speech to make on how this is going to work! We have two exchange students from the Southern Watertribe! As you all now or possibly think you now, Southern Watertribe people and culture are very abnormal, or to what the rumors say, are savages! These people are not savages! They are living human beings trying to survive like you and me! If I hear that anyone, ANYONE, insults, upsets, or even jokes about them or their heritage, they will be expelled and ordered to leave these grounds immediately! Now, allow me to introduce our new comrades, the one on my left is Howl Yoshida! The one on my right is Korra Yaeger! They have a right to be here like the rest of you and you will treat them with respect! These students are different from us! How can they be different from us?! Two reasons: one, they have been trained as assassin's for over two years! Two, they have seen and experienced things no one could ever imagine! Their city was destroyed and burned right before their eyes! Every member of their families have been killed by our enemy! All they have is each other! We will treat them like family! That is all! Now, I need two people to bring them to their quarters! Uhh, Mako O'Ryan, you will take Korra Yaeger to her quarters! Rosalie Saski, you will take Howl Yoshida to his quarters! Everyone else, you are dismissed!"

With that, Mako gulped and walked over to Korra. She was putting away her black cloak and putting on her uniform jacket. Instead of the one's everyone else wore, she wore a dark blue uniform jacket that had the Southern Watertribe symbol on the original places with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, exposing her arm bands that went from her wrist to her forearm. He cleared his throat, making her face him while picking up her bag. He gulped and bowed. "You don't have to bow, I'm not a princess." she said

Mako then looked at her, cleared his throat, stretched out his hand, and said "Name's Mako O'Ryan."

"Korra Yaeger." Korra said while shaking his hand

Mako smiled and noded. He looked down and saw her smaller bag. He knelt down to pick it up but she stopped him by setting her hand on his chest. Korra then picked it up and smiled at him. They then started walking. They walked in silence, and it was kind of awkward. Although, Mako would sneak an opportunity to glance at her whenever she wasn't looking. He then asked "So, uh, have you ever been anywhere, besides here or the South?"

"No, never really got the chance." Korra answered

"Oh, what is it like in the Southern Watertribe?" Mako asked curiously

"It's very... out of the box. It's really cold. There's no color besides white and blue. It's like the Watertribes are sad and depressing. What about you, hot shot? What is it like in the city?" Korra said as she gave him a curious expression

"Oh, um, well, it's loud ,one. There's a lot of schools, businesses, and houses. What I'm trying to say that, it's big. What city are you from?" Mako said

"Limpten City, it's near the capital, but also the closest city to Titan Country. Which made us more of a target. I lived in the Madrid District right by the fence." Korra explained while looking at the ground

"Wait, fence? You guys didn't have walls?" Mako questioned while making them stop walking

"No, one because we didn't have the money. Two, because we didn't have the material. The walls should be difficult for a Titan to break through while our thirty meter high fences are easier to break." Korra said

Mako looked at the ground, sighed, and said "I wouldn't say that. I'm from Raven District, Republic City. The Titans destroyed our home."

Korra's eyes widened and said "They got in? How?"

"There was this new breed of Titan that appeared. The Cloud Titan. He busted a hole in the outer gate. Another new breed, the Clone Titan, busted another hole through the inner gate. Over 20% of the District's population was killed off. We were forced to completely retreat behind the wall of Phoenix District. We were homeless." Mako explained

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Korra said

Mako just smiled at her. Korra gave him a confused look and asked "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're beautiful, Korra Yaeger. You are one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my entire life." Mako commented

Korra's eyes widened. Her whole face from her neck to her hairline was red. No one has ever said anything like that to her before. She gulped and said "Well, you're the first. No one said anything like that to me before. You're- that's very sweet of you."

Mako noded and said "Well, you are."

"You don't have to do that, you know. You don't have to pretend to be nice to me." Korra gloomily said

Mako's eyes widened, sighed, and said "Korra, I'm nothing like those jerks. I wouldn't think of doing that to you in a million years."

Korra smiled and said "You have shown me great kindness, Mako. For that, I'm greatful. But, let me ask you this, how do you know that being different is a good thing?"

"I'll tell you, just not yet. Now, what do you think was special about the city you lived in?" Mako asked with a smirk on his face

Korra set her hand on her chin to think. There wasn't much in the South besides snow and Titans. After a minute of thinking, her eyes widened. So, she faced Mako and said "Okay, here's the deal, I'll ask you five questions about either who you are or your home. Then you'll ask me five questions. We'll answer them and when we're finished, you'll answer my question and then I'll answer yours, okay?"

Mako lifted his eyebrows while nodding. He then said "Okay, ask away. We have time."

With that said, they sat down and faced each other. Korra then asked "Did you come here with anyone else?"

"Yes, my brother Bolin and our life long best friend, Asami. Okay, ask another question." Mako said

"How big is Republic City?" Korra asked

"It covers over half of the northern coast in the United Republic." Mako answered

"What were you parents like? What did they do?" Korra asked

"Whoa, that's a little personal and that counts as two questions." Mako said

Korra then gave him the puppy dog face. Her bottom lip popped out while her eyes gave him the innocent look. This made Mako sigh and answered "My dad was a scientist and a doctor. He wanted to help people. He was recruited by the central government in Alice Springs, since he was the best, to work in a secret laboratory to help other scientists. My mom was a hair dresser before she had Bolin and me. She became a house wife to take care of us."

"That's nice. Okay, last question, why do you want to become a soldier?" Korra said

Mako's eyes widened. Then, the images from two years ago came back. Titans walking all over the city. All the blood in the street. His mother being picked up by the Titan. Her being put in it's rotten mouth. He clenched his jaw, trying to hold back the tears. He failed, a few tears came down his cheeks. Mako sniffed and said "During the invasion, my mother was crushed from the waist down underneath our roof. Asami and I tried to get her out but, we were running out of time. A Titan was coming down the street. One of the Wall Regement scouts we knew took Asami and I and ran in the opposite direction. I was put over his shoulder while Asami was put under his arm, but she could still look behind. The Titan took my mother from underneath the roof. I was screaming for it to stop but I couldn't do anything. We watched. The Titan paralyzed her by pulling her spin apart. It put her limp body in it's mouth, and the next thing I knew, she was gone. Just like that."

Korra looked down and said "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I know this sounds cliché and all but, I know how you feel. My parents were killed by a Titan too."

"Yeah, well, it happens. Okay, now, it's my turn. How long have you known Howl?" Mako said

"Since he was born. I'm five months older than him. We've been inseparable ever since." Korra answered

"Do you want to become a soldier?" Mako asked

"Hmm, yes and no." Korra answered

"Okay, um, do the Watertribes get along or... ?" Mako asked confused

"Oh, we're separate but we still keep in touch." Korra said

"Hmm, that's odd but okay. Oh, why are you and Howl assassins? I mean, did you guys have a choice?" Mako asked curiously

Korra narrowed her eyes at him and said "Don't you know. It's a law. It states that if any child under the age of 16 that has been apart of a Titan invasion has to be trained as assassins in order to defend themselves. It is a law, so, no we didn't have a choice. We didn't want to become assassins."

"That's stupid. Okay, why did you want to become a soldier?" Mako asked carefully

Her eyes widened. That's the same question she asked him. She sighed and said "Ever since I was born, people knew I was different. I was bullied a lot when I was in school. Deep down, I knew there was something else beyond our fences. I wanted to become a general like my dad. He resigned the day I was born. I was tired of running and yelling for help. I want to make a difference in the world, but no one would listen to me. Now that my family is gone, I want to kill every single one of those sons of bitches. That's why I want to become a soldier. I want to join the Scout Regement in the United Republic to start off."

"Oh, that's a pretty good reason. I completely understand. Now, can you answer the question I asked you earlier, please?" Mako begged

Korra lifted an eyebrow, smirked, and said "You never really give up, do you? *sigh* Fine, I'll answer your question. There was a lake just about a half a mile outside of the city. I found it one day when I ran away. I was only 6 years old. The place was peaceful. The only problem was that, it was on the border of Titan Country. I went there for five years. I couldn't go back because I was rescued by a soldier. A Titan found me. I saw what they were really like. It was terrible."

Korra sighed as she set her hands on her face. Mako looked at her with a sad expression. She saw what the outside was like at a younger age than him. She looked at him through one of her opened fingers, faced him, and said "Okay, now it's your turn. Answer my question."

Mako rolled his eyes and said "Ever since I was 9, I've always wanted to go outside and fight bullies, but I've also wanted an adventure. Bolin came to me one day with a large book. He never really was the reading type, so I was curious about it. So, he told me it was about the outside world, I said that he couldn't because it was a world-wide law to talk about the outside world. It's illegal. But when he told me about things like the sea, water like fire that dance in the sky, fields of flowers that stretch on forever. It was amazing. We lived in the lower region of Raven District by the outer wall, so no one actually listened to us. We were treated like outcasts. Like we didn't belong in the city, or the world for that matter. People like you and Howl are like outcasts to people in the United Republic and Earth Kingdom, but to me you guys are just different from everyone else. Your Nation is tribal and things aren't as ordinary as things all around the world. Honestly, I envy your culture. Things are more peaceful there than here. You are very special. We all are. Don't forget that."

Korra smiled and noded. They then got up and walked the rest of the way in silence, but it wasn't awkward, which was nice. They got to know each other and it was fun, but a bit sad. Their pasts weren't perfect but it was apart of them, and no one could take that away from them. Once they got to her quarters, she faced him and said "You are very honest and smart, Mako. You're there for others when no one else can be. You're brave, strong, and... sweet."

With that, she stood on her tippy toes, set one hand on his shoulder, leaned up, and kissed his cheek. Mako stared at her with a shocked expression while his cheeks turned pink. Korra smiled and said "I admire that about you. Maybe we can be friends. I'll talk to Howl and we'll talk at dinner. Okay, well, see ya later."

Still blushing, Mako gave her a shy smile as she went inside. All the way back to the cabins, he had walked with his eyes widened, mouth gaped, and still blushing from ear to ear. No girl has ever said or done anything like that before to him. He has never even had a childhood crush before, which made the situation very interesting. Some of the comrades he'd met earlier and his brother and Asami were waiting for him to return and saw the expression on his face. Conner came up to him and asked frantically "What happened? Did she want to kill you? Did she threaten you? Come on dude, what happened?"

Instead of answering, he drooled. Everyone gave him confused looks. Mako then stepped forward before saying "That's lovely."

Before he knew it, Mako's eyes rolled to the back of his head and collapsed on the ground. Bolin and Conner went to his side and tried to wake him up, but failed. Asami thought for a few minutes, trying to figure this out. Bolin then asked "What do you think happened to him?"

"I don't know, but we're gonna find out once we get a hold of that bitch." Conner said

Asami's eyes widened, he has never acted like that before. From the results they've seen since he returned from escorting Korra, she had a pretty good idea. Asami spoke up "I think... someone has euphoria."

"What?" Conner questioned

Asami then knelt beside Mako's limp body and inspected him. She set her hand on his temple, he was warm. She looked at his face to see it as red as a balloon. Asami then set her ear to his chest to hear his heart beating like skyrocket. She looked at the boys and said "Yep, he's in love."

* * *

><p>It took over two hours for Mako to wake up. By then, it was time to eat dinner. Mako had no clue on what happened besides before Korra kissed him on his cheek. On the walk to the cafeteria, everyone gave him death glares. Even the guards stared at him, like some criminal on the way to his own execution. The whole room became silent when he entered the room. While he walked to the line, no one spoke or even looked at him. When he sat down with his brother and friends, everyone returned to their conversations. A few more people came to sit at their table, which he thought was odd, but ignored it. Conner was the first one to speak, "So, are you going to tell us what happened?"<p>

Mako took a bite from his bowl of rice, swallowed, and said "Well, there's really nothing to say. She didn't try to kill if that's what you're getting at."

"Bro, you fainted after escorting her. Something happened, and don't tell us it was nothing." Bolin said before chomping down on his meat

"Yeah, come on. We need details." Rosalie begged

"You're one to talk. You escorted her life long best friend, and you didn't arrive until an hour after I did." Mako said

"Oh, leave her alone. We need details from you. Please Mako." Marco stated

Mako sighed and said "Okay, we talked for a while. We got to know each other that's all."

"Then why were you blushing and drooling when you got back?" Asami asked

This made Mako blush and say "Umm, it's kinds embarrassing."

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad." a girl said, her name was Jinora Kimmura from the Air Nomads

Mako blushed even harder while hiding his face. He then said "She kissed my cheek and I told her she was beautiful."

That's when everyone went silent. This made Mako give a nervous laugh as a response. Then, the door opened to the cafeteria, in which, everyone turned their heads towards the front door. Which made things worse than they already are. It was Korra and Howl. Korra looked around, grabbed Howl's hand, and they walked to the line to get food. When they got their food, Korra found Mako and sat next to him. After a few minutes, everyone went back to their conversations. Korra then leaned slightly to whisper in Mako's ear "Uh, why is everyone staring at us?"

Mako didn't even answer, instead he gulped and held his breath. Korra's eyes widened when she realized he wasn't breathing and noded at Howl for something. In which, Howl noded back, motioned to his feet, took off his sock, and set it in front of Mako's nose. Mako then coughed from the terrible smell of Howl's sock. Korra then patted on his back and said "You kinda scared me there. Are you okay?"

"Oh, don't worry. He's fine. Just lost his breath when you came over here. Name's Asami. I'm Mako's childhood friend." Asami answered for him while stretching out her hand as she smiled

Korra slowly stretched her hand to shake Asami's while saying "Korra Yaeger. This is my best friend, Howl."

Howl smiled and waved. Asami smiled and said "This is Bolin, Mako's brother and my boyfriend, Conner, Rosalie, Jinora, Kai, Marco, Lori, and her twin brother, Shawn. I say, we were surprised to see Mako the way he was when he came back from escorting you. He fainted."

Korra's eyes widened at the statement. Why would he faint? It wasn't that far of a walk, and it wasn't that hot outside either. But she didn't ask for the sake of it. Instead, she just starting eating her food. Howl did the same. Conner gulped and said "So, what do you two know what you want to be when you guys graduate?"

Korra swallowed her food and answered "We want to join the Scout Regement in Republic City. It's what we've always wanted."

"What? You're kidding me, right? Any exchange students can join whatever job you want, and you two choose the Scout Regement? You two are as crazy as Mako, Bolin, Asami, Rosalie, Lori, and Shawn." Conner said

"Conner, they're doing it for a reason, such as my brother, Asami, and I. It's normal." Mako finally spoke up

"What?" Conner asked

"Don't make me repeat myself. And don't question peoples decisions, Conner. Especially, hers. She's been through more than any of us can think of along, along with her best friend." Mako warned Conner as he ate

"Oh, yeah, I'll keep that in mind." Conner said as he lowered his shoulders

Korra looked at Mako and said "You didn't have to do that, ya know. Howl and I can handle ourselves. But, thank you."

Mako smiled at her and noded. After a while, the group began to get more comfortable with talking to the two Watertribe students. They laughed, joked, and talked together throughout dinner. That was until Michael, an Earth Kingdom exchange student, interrupted the group's conversation.

Michael did something only a drunk would do, he grabbed Korra's hair and pulled her back. In which, she fell on the floor. Everyone gasped at the action. Korra held her head and looked at the man. Michael smirked and sarcastically said "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pull your hair, Miss Yaeger."

Mako narrowed his eyes at the cruel bastard. Michael then set his hands on the table and said "This table is a joke. I'm surprised a bunch of spoiled brats would let two savages be their friends. It doesn't seem right to me."

Shawn stood up and said "Oh, we're the spoiled brats? It seems to me you're the one that's spoiled."

"Shut up, smart mouth! You need to learn your manners." Michael said

"Oh, he needs to learn his manners? Someone with manners doesn't hurt or insult people. You; however, you're an ugly son of a bitch." Korra said as she got up

Michael's eyes widened at the insult Korra gave him. Korra narrowed her eyes at him in anger. Without warning, Michael grabbed Korra's neck and threw her across the room. Unfortunately, her back hit the pole. Mako growled as he was about to stand up but Bolin stopped him. Korra coughed as she stood up and leaned against the pole. Michael gave her a devilish smirk, ran towards her, and grabbed her neck. He started to chock her. Korra grabbed for her knife in her pocket but couldn't reach it. All of a sudden, Mako grabbed Michael's shirt, turned him around, grabbed his collar, and said "Now, you've officially pissed me off."

With that, Mako pushed the bastard forward and kicked his face. In which, Michael went flying across the room.

Mako then gave Korra a worried expression and helped her up. When Korra stood up, she nearly fell on the floor, so, Mako wrapped his right hand on her waist while he held her arm over her shoulder. They looked up and saw Michael holding his jaw, trying to catch his breath. Michael laughed and said "You've got to be kidding me. A United Republican caring for a Savage Girl? Well, isn't that just sweet. I'll be back. And your little boyfriend won't be here to save you either. When I'm finished with you, you're childhood best friend is next."

After that, Mako agreed to bring Korra back to her quarters. Since she couldn't necessarily walk, Mako had to carry her. Not on his back either, he carried her like she was a damsel in distress. On the way to her cabin, Korra had set her head on his shoulder and fell asleep with a smile on her face. As soon as Mako noticed, he smiled back and thought 'What am I going to do with her? I just met her and I'm already falling for her? This is one small world.'

* * *

><p>A Few Days Later<p>

A few days after the incident, everyone was on the field, waiting for the Commander to make an announcement. It was an important announcement too. Not everyone was clueless though. Only the exchange students were to know of the Commander's plans and announcements. Although, the exchange students were to always stay with the Commander the first year. That was the tenth rule in the Law Book. When the Commander first came out, everyone got into their positions and gave the salute. Commander Riley responded with a salute and shouted "Alright everyone, listen up! I have an important announcement to make! Today will not be your first day of training! Instead, we're gonna perform a recommended task suggested by the Scout Regement! You are going to face real living Titans!"

Everyone gasped at this. Why would the Scout Regement recommend such a dangerous assignment? Were they crazy or something?

Commander Riley continued "Quiet! Now, you will not be fighting them head on! However, you will come to face the beasts! That's right! All of you will be facing more than one Titan. Each of you will be facing three Titans in three different classes. First, you will be facing a five meter from the Fire Nation! Second, you will be facing is a ten meter from the Earth Kingdom! Finally, the last asshole you will be facing is a fifteen meter from the Southern Watertribe! Now, from which Nation that Titan is from, one exchange student from that Nation will set an example of how the Titans regenerate, feel no pain, and don't have principles! With the necessary experiment patients, Section Commander and Professor of the Scout Regement, Commander Tracey Tommson has accepted and agreed to provide the three captured Titans as examples for this group to face! You will all meet us after lunch in the outside entrance of the fort! Dismissed!"

In which, everyone went their separate ways. While walking towards the cabins, Mako spotted Korra walking in the opposite direction. He gasped and ran towards her. Bolin, Conner, Rosalie, and Kai saw him going towards Korra and looked at him with confused looks. As he ran towards her, Mako shouted "Korra! Wait up! I need to talk to you!"

With that, Korra stopped but didn't face him. Once Mako got her, he put his hands on his knees while trying to catch his breath. Mako then said "Damn, you walk fast for a girl. Now, let me take a look at you."

He then reached for her face. He set one hand on her shoulder and set the other underneath her chin as he looked at her face. A few nights ago, she had bruises and cuts all over her face and back. Although, today she looked like a ghost. She had bags under her eyes, a cut lip, and her eyes looked like they had no color. Her face was pale and, she did not look happy. Mako looked at her face and said "You look a little better than a few days ago. But you look pale. Have you been sleeping lately? Are you okay?"

Instead of answering, Korra slightly pushed him away from her. Mako gave her a worried expression and asked with a soothing voice. "Hey, are you okay? Are you mad at me? Come on, you know you can talk to me. What's wrong?"

Korra narrowed her eyes at him and said "Mako, it isn't you I'm mad at. It's the way everyone treats me and my people. Everyone thinks they can push us around all the time. Not to mention that my parents are gone and it's because of those animals. I don't feel like facing those things today. They took everything away from me. EVERYTHING. And, the Commander chose me to take the one from the South on. It doesn't seem fair, that's all."

"Well, life isn't fair. And look, if you don't feel like facing them, then put on your poker face. You just have to got up and get it over with. Okay?" Mako says

Before Mako could speak further, Korra set her finger over his lips to shut him up. Mako gave her a confused expression at the sudden action. Korra then said "Don't do me any favors I don't deserve. I just ask that you not treat me like I'm your little sister. I want to be friends with you and your friends, but for now, just stay away from me. I've been through enough humiliation for the past few days, and I don't feel like talking to anyone. For now, just keep your distance from me. Okay?"

Korra walked off before he could even stop her. He felt like he had just been stabbed in the heart, like when his mother was killed. He gulped as tears formed in his eyes. Even though they had just met a few days ago, he felt like he has known her his whole life. It was weird on how life worked. But it was also cruel with it's consequences. Mako looked ahead only to see Korra's back and whispered "Don't be upset, Korra. This is nothing. You and I have been through a lot more than you want to believe. Trust me, you're not alone in this situation. And you never will be."

As if hearing him, Korra turns around but only sees his back. She then regretted her words.

* * *

><p>A Few Hours Later<p>

Everyone was walking towards the outside entrance of the fort for their little assignment for the day. Mako wasn't scared or nervous like everyone else, he was just confused and unsure about what Korra was about to do and worried about how she was feeling. As he walked, he looked at the ground in worry. Everything was going so great between them, that was until that selfish bastard Michael made a scene and embarrassed her. Just then, he bumped into someone and looked up. They all stopped. Why? So, he pushed his way through the crowd of Cadetes. As he pushed through the crowd, he said "What is it? What are you all looking at?"

Once he got to the front of the crowd, he realized why they had stopped. There was a five meter staring straight at them with a stupid smirk on it's face. What a disgrace. He didn't even scream or back up. He just stared at it. Out of nowhere, a female voice said "Well, I'm surprised. You're the first one to get close to this unknown creature and not show fear of any kind. You are very gifted, my boy."

In which, Mako turned around and saw a woman. She had giant, geekly glasses, brownish-green eyes, dirty blonde hair that was in a pony tail, light tan skin, and she was freakishly tall. What really confused him was, why was she smiling at him like that? So, he gave her a confused look. Then, all of a sudden, she ran towards him with a large smile and open arms. Once she hugged him, she then shouted with excitement, "Waa hoo! You're the first one! I'm so proud of you! You obviously don't fear my beautiful giants! I like this kid already, Riley!"

Commander Riley just rolled his eyes and said "Tommson, if you hug the boy any tighter, you'll crush his ribs and he'll start coughing up blood. Let him go and introduce yourself to everyone."

In which, she obeyed and let Mako go. He fell back trying to catch his breath and looked at the woman. She smiled, gave the salute, and said "Everyone my name is Section Commander Tracey Tommson. Second in Command of the Scout Regement and Top Scientist in Titan Physiology."

Everyone saluted back in response and listened as Tracey continued to speak "Okay, everyone! Listen, and listen carefully! Our assignment today is a very easy but fearful one. You are to get within at least five feet away from the three Titans faces. Whoever fails will be to help in the kitchen for a week. Now, we will complete this assignment within an hour, by then, I need to return with these three back to HeadQuarters. Exchange students, you are only to cut the skin of Titans backs, that way their mouths are out of reach. If any of you attempt to kill them, you will be charged with destruction of property. Is this understood?!"

To which, everyone gave the salute and answered "Sir, yes sir!"

Tracey then noded her head with a smirk and gestured Mako to come forth. Mako obeyed and walked in front of the tied up Titan with Tracey next to him. The Titan's head was metal strapped to the ground and it was smiling. Mako glared at it. He then felt a set of hands on his shoulders, to which, he turned his head towards the person who was touching him. It was Tracey. Mako turned his head back towards the Titan. Tracey then leaned her head towards his ear and whispered "You are going to be the one that will go first on this one, the second one, but not the third. You will go last. Don't question it. It's the rules. Good luck, O'Ryan."

To which, Mako sighed and walked a little closer to the captured beast's face. He looked at the animal in disgust and growled at it. It growled back. This caused everyone, even Riley and Tracey, gasp at the Titan's response. Mako wasn't surprised. While Mako glared at it, he thought 'Pfft, you and a very few amount of your kind are lucky to be at our grace and mercy. Especially, when you have none for us. But guess what, your time, along with your kind, are over. And I'm gonna be the one to kill every single one of you. Bastard.'

After everyone faced the first two Titans, they got real quiet when they were gonna face the Southern Watertribe/fifteen meter Titan. According to the Scout Regement of the Watertribe, these Titans were more vicious and energetic. There were more abnormals than normals. And this one was very aggressive. It kept growling and snapping at the Cadetes. Once Mako faced it, the Titan stopped growling. In this result, Mako smirked and walked back a little bit. He was kind of nervous now. Korra was gonna take this thing on. By the guards, Howl looked at Riley and said "Sir, I beg you reconsider. Don't make Korra put up with this thing."

Riley looked at Howl and said "I'm sorry, Yoshida. Once I make a decision, I made a decision. Nothing you can say can change my mind. Yaeger, it's your turn."

Korra noded, grabbed a pair of blades, and walked towards the Titan. She stopped walking when the Titan gave a low growl. Her eyes widened at the sound. She heard that growl from some where. So, Korra slowly looked up at the Titan's face. She gasped at it's face. She recognized it. All of a sudden, visions and memories of the destruction of her city and the death of her parents came back to her head. This was the Titan that devoured her parents. She dropped her blades. This caught everyone's attention. Korra stuttered with her words as she stared at it. Mako started to slowly walk towards her. When he was about half way from Korra, she fell to her knees. Everyone gasped. Howl then realized why she was acting this way. In which, he said "It's him."

Tracey look at him and asked "What? Who's 'him'?"

Howl responded "That's the one. That's the Titan that killed Korra's parents during our city's destruction. She first encountered him when she was hiding in an alley with her polar-bear pup. If it wasn't for me, Korra would've been killed and it would've spread more panic. I wouldn't get her right now, if I were you. She'll become aggressive and will go into survival mode. Just be patient."

By then, Mako close enough to hear Korra whispering to herself. Although, he couldn't understand what she was saying. It was as if she wasn't even speaking the proper language. She whispered "Damprare. Foeda omnia et stultmest. Non occides ... ... ... ... et singula que." (Damn you. Damn all of you and your stupid kind. I... will... kill... every single... one of you.)

Mako's eyes widened at the aggressiveness to her voice. It was a mixture between anger and sadness. What the hell is going on? All of a sudden, Korra clenched her teeth, ran towards the blades, grabbed them, and jumped towards the Titan's forehead while screaming "Morbi pretium caedis parentes amet! Audi me, fili canis?! Audi me?! Occidam in te delectari me laudibus!" (You're gonna pay for killing my parents! You hear me, you son of a bitch?! You hear me?! I'm gonna kill all of you!)

Everyone, including Riley and Tracey, gasped. Tracey then started pulling her hair in frustration and shouted "Someone stop her! She's going to kill my beautiful patient! O'Ryan! Yoshida! Riley! Someone! Stop her!"

Mako gasped at Korra's actions. She was stabbing the giants face and head with both pairs of the blades. He narrowed his eyes very carefully at Korra's face. After a moment, he gasped took a step back at noticing Korra's eyes. They weren't their beautiful ocean blue eyes anymore. They were-They were pure black. It wasn't her. It wasn't Korra at all. It was pure hatred. Just then Korra jumped to the nape of it's neck, raised her one of her blades up in the air ,and shouted in another language "Zuk eta maduko animaliak dira! Ez, zu gaixotasunaren bat! Hau da zer lortu duzun, duzu puta baten semea! Botako dut zu hiltzea! Gonna egin duzu jasaten naiz!" (You and your kind are animals! No, you're a disease! This is what you get you son of a bitch! This is what you get! I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna make sure you suffer!)

The fifteen meter then roared aggressively. And for some reason, Mako understood what she had said. In which, he went into immediate action. Everyone's eyes widened and were about to go after her. Howl, Tracey, and Riley then shouted "Korra, no! Stop what you're doing!"

But before Korra could finish the Titan off, Mako had jumped up, grabbed her by the waist, brought her to the ground, and tried to take the blades from her hands. Although, Korra wouldn't let him. She shouted in the language she has been speaking "No! Noli me tangere! Dimitte me alioquin interficiam te! Im 'agnus dei occidite!" (No! Don't touch me! Let me go! I'm gonna kill it!)

But before she could attack the giant, Mako took the blades from her hands, grabbed her face, looked into her eyes, and gently said "Korra, no. Stop. Listen, it's me. It's me."

After looking at Mako for a moment, her expression softened and her eyes that were black became their normal ocean blue color. Her eyes widened as tears formed and started stream down her cheeks. Mako smiled and hugged her. Korra pressed her face into his chest as she cried. Tracey looked at Howl in frustration and said "I thought she would be agressive towards him. We could've stopped her."

Howl answered "Not unless, she absolutely cares for the person, that is. You need to learn more about your Cadetes, Commander Tommson."

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter Three

Balance

_In the year of 1925, two terrifying new breeds of Titan appeared. The Cloud and the Clone. Breaking through Seryna Village walls as if whole sail destruction was childs play. As the Titans non-stop advanced, our only choice was to withdraw behind the walls of Phoenix District. Over 20% of Republic City's population was lost. Two years after the fall, Asami, my brother, and I joined the two hundred ninety-fourth Cadete Corps. Along the way, we met two very special Watertribe students, Korra Yaeger and Howl Yoshida. With the assignment of facing three captured Titans, Korra was put to the test. At the last straw, Korra became outraged and almost killed the fifteen meter Titan that murdered her parents. Although, now is not the time to take vengeance, the rule was that if you didn't do your best, you were to be kicked out. The question is: Who will stay? And who will leave?_

* * *

><p>It was two weeks after the assignment and Korra's breakdown. She was put under the watch of Mako and Howl, since they were the ones that she trusted most. On the day Korra broke down, Lori, Shawn, Conner, and Marco told the Commander what happened to Korra at dinner on the first day and what Micheal did. That day, Micheal was expelled and was forced to leave immediately.<p>

They had to spend three weeks of survival and equipment training. Mainly on food, water, and ODM Gear repairment. But today was going to be different, they didn't know what but, it was for training. Everyone got up as usual and went outside to wake up. Mako, however; went straight to Korra's cabin to check on her.

When Mako got to her door, he gently knocked on the door, and waited for her to answer. After a few minutes, Korra opened the door, looked at him, and asked with a yawn "What is it? Do you need something?"

Mako shook his head and said "No, I just came to check on you. Can I come in?"

Korra sighed and noded. She stepped aside to let him in. Mako smiled and walked in. Korra closed the door behind her and went into the kitchen. Mako sat at the edge of her bed and waited for her to come back. It was nice in the room. Cozy. He then heard Korra shout "You want some tea?! I'm making some honey combed tea!"

Mako looked up and said "Sure! Take your time!"

Mako then looked down at his intertwined hands and rolled his thumbs around as he waited. He began to go deep into thought. What had happened two weeks before. When Korra tried to kill that Watertribe Titan, she was speaking two different languages and her eyes turned black. Why? Was she possessed or something? Wait, no. He shouldn't be thinking like that. He should just ask her himself. Although, he wasn't sure if that was such a good idea. His thoughts were interrupted by Korra's footsteps. She then came in with a small tray with two tea cups. He looked up and smiled. She gave him a tea cup and drank hers. Mako then took a sip of his tea and thought 'Mm, this is good. Really good.'

He then gulped it down. Korra looked up and smiled. He liked it. After he finished it, he said "This is the best tea I've ever had."

"Well, you're welcome any time. That's Howl's secret recipe." Korra said

Mako laughed for a moment but frowned after realizing his question for her. Korra looked at him in concern and asked "Mako, what's wrong? Is something bothering you?"

Mako set his tea cup to the side and asked "Korra, remember two weeks ago when you nearly killed that Titan, what happened to you? I mean, you spoke two different languages, your eyes turned black, what was that all about?"

Her eyes widened. That was the last thing she expected him to ask. That was in the past, but if he needed answers, then so be it. So, Korra set her tea cup to the side, got up, and went into one of her drawers. After a moment, she took out a book and sat down next to him. Korra then looked at him and answered "Mako, in the Watertribes, we speak a different language than other Nations. We speak a language called Latin. It's very similar to English but, it's harder to pronounce. Although, I don't remember speaking another language."

Mako's eyes widened. She didn't remember? That's strange. So, Mako turned to face her and said "Here's the thing, I didn't understand three of the statements you said, but when you were about to kill it, I understood what you said. And what I heard was not Latin. It sounded like something more ancient. And why did your eyes turn black?"

Korra then opened the book and went to a certain page. She pointed at a picture for him to look at. Mako narrowed his eyes at it and gasped. The picture was of a dark spirit. It had tenticalls, eight eyes of green, and was about the size of a cargo ship. He looked at Korra and asked "Wh-What is that thing?"

"That, is my demon. Whenever the death of my parents is insulted or joked about, I get angry and my emotions go high wire. The thing is, I speak Latin when I'm angry or upset about my parents. Speaking another language, however; I'm not sure of." Korra explained

His eyes widened at this. She was possessed by a dark spirit? When did that happen? Are the Watertribes apart of witchcraft or something? It didn't make sense.

So, Mako put his hand on his chin and said "Maybe, we can ask Kai and Jinora about the language you spoke. The Air Nomads study just about every type of language in the world."

Just when Korra was about to respond, the trumphit to wake up went off. They sighed in frustration. Why now? Mako looked at Korra and said "Well, I guess it's Aptitude Day. We're gonna have tests on the ODM Gear today. Might as well get ready. See you later."

See ya." Korra said

* * *

><p>A Few Hours Later<p>

Within a few hours, everyone started on their aptitude test for ODM Gear. They were located near the back entrance to the camp, where over six ODM Gear wire poles were located. The objective was to hold your balance on the wires for about a minute and a half. The principle and his assisent were observing the Cadetes. As they walked along, the principle's assisent asked "Sir, what test is this?"

"This is an aptitude and friction test. It's to test the students ability's to hold their balance on the ODM Gear. We don't want any of our soldiers to use the ODM Gear without knowing how to balance themselves." the principle explained

"Balancing? Like her?" the assisent asked as he pointed at Korra. She was balancing perfectly. She wasn't even struggling. She was in complete control. She had no emotion showing on her face. The principle smiled and said "Yes, like her. She shows that relaxation and control keeps your balance perfectly even and safe. Looks like we have a lot of Cadetes this year. That's a good sign."

One of the students caught the assisent's eye and asked "What about him?"

The principle turned his gaze towards what his assisnet was looking at and chuckled. He walked up to his assisent and said "That's why we have these tests, sergeant. He shows that agility and strength does not have an even balance. That's why he's failing."

It was Mako. He was hanging upside down from the ODM wires. He couldn't believe this, just when he had his chance to train to fight, he's making a fool of himself by hanging upside down. His eyes were as wide as baseballs. Commander Riley bent down to Mako's eyes and shouted "Pull it together, O'Ryan! If you can't handle this, consider yourself being put in the fields!"

Everyone laughed at Mako's mistake. As he hung upside down, he thought to himself 'Come on! How do you work this thing?! This can't be happening!'

* * *

><p>That Evening<p>

Just about two hours before dinner, Asami, Korra, and Bolin agreed to help Mako with the ODM Gear. As Asami strapped Mako up, Korra said "Just adjust your legs so that they can even out the weight of both your lower body and equipment. Then, relax your muscles and empty your thoughts. Put both of your weight and control balanced."

Bolin came to the rotating switch and said "Hey, and keep you stance steady. No fancy moves. Hey, if I can do it, then you should have no problem."

In which, Mako noded and said "Right, keep myself steady but also balanced. You done, Asami."

Asami got up and away from Mako. She then said "You're good to go. Bolin, rile him up."

Bolin noded, grabbed the switch, and started turning it. As he did, Mako was lifted up. As he let his feet off the ground, he kept himself as balanced as he could. Although, just when his feet were off the ground, Mako lost his balance, tumbled over, and hit the bridge of his nose and forehead on the concrete floor. Causing blood to flow out. He screamed in agony. Once he stopped rocking back and forth, Asami, Korra, and Bolin ran over to him, unstrapped him from the wires, and gently set him on the ground. Asami brought his face up and saw that he was knocked unconscious from the blow to his face. Korra sighed, shook her head, and said "So egure to get it done. Let's get him to the nurses office and patch him up."

Asami and Bolin noded as they got Mako upon their shoulders. He was a mess. Later that evening, at dinner Mako looked like he just came from a warzone or something. He had bruises exposed all over his head, he had bandages wrapped around his forehead, and a nose wrap on the bridge of his nose. Mako looked dumb folded. Everyone was whispering about his big screw up today. He was deep in thought too. He thought to himself 'Why is this happening? Why me? It's not fair.'

Bolin interrupted his thoughts by slapping him on the back and saying "Hey, snap out of it. It's not going to help if you keep thinking about it."

Mako's attention was snapped back to reality. He looked down at his soup and saw his reflection. He was a failure. Asami saw this. So, she sighed and said "Mako, maybe it's time to let the Scout Regement dream die."

Everyone at he table gasped. Mako looked up and said "Are you kidding me?! You're seriously suggesting that I should just give up like that?!"

"Mako, there is a lot more to training than just combat. It takes a lot more than just talent to become a soldier." Asami said

Mako's eyes widened at this. He couldn't believe this. So, he responded "I can't believe those words that are coming out of your mouth! You're saying this right now?! You saw what they could do that day! You saw what they did to my mom! How could you say something like that?!"

Asami sighed and said "Listen, it doesn't matter anymore. I promised her that I would keep you two alive. And I intend to keep it. And I'm not saying you should go work in the fields, I'm just saying you should think this through."

"If you haven't listened to me for the past ten years, I have thought it through. Come on, Bolin, Korra, let's go." Mako said as he got up and left. So, they got up and followed Mako out. Asami and Howl were left alone in silence. They looked at each other and shook their heads. Back at the cabins, Mako along with his brother and Korra, were trying to get everyone who were good at the aptitude test would help him. But they would either insult him or refuse. Their last people were Lori and Shawn. They were sitting on their bunk beds. Mako begged "Please, guys. I heard that you two were really good at it. Collins? Shawn?"

Lori preferred to be called by her middle name by her friends, which was Collins. Lori sighed in frustration. She wanted to help them but it wasn't that easy to explain. So, she looked at them and said "Sorry, kid. There's nothing special to some wire trick. I wish we could help you, Mako. But, we can't."

Mako looked down and said "Okay."

As the trio stood up, Bolin said "Maybe it'll come to you tomorrow. You need the rest from that injury on your face."

Before they could leave, Shawn narrowed his eyes at them and asked "Hold on. Bolin, Mako, are you two from Seryna Village, Raven District? And Korra, are you from Limpten City?"

In which, they all sat back down and said "Yes."

"Then, all three of you should know how terrifying they are. Why on earth would you want to be soldiers?" Shawn said with caution

The trio looked at each other in curiosity. This should be good. So, Bolin looked at Lori and Shawn and answered "I didn't see the things Mako and Korra did. They saw their bloodlust firsthand before anyone knew what was going on. And, I, well I joined because I couldn't stand by as the central government forced the civilians to join the Failed Territory Retrieval Operation."

Shawn looked down at the mattress and said "Oh, I see."

Korra asked "So, where are you two from?"

"Oh, Lori and I? We're both from a mountain village just west of Seryna Village." Shawn answered

The trio gasped as their eyes widened That wasn't far from the breach of the inner gate. Even Korra knew that. That was quite a shock. Shawn continued "Yeah, unlike most prosperous river towns, our village didn't receive word about the breach right away. The Titans were on top of us before anyone knew what was going on. It happened at dawn. All the dogs were restless. The birds were circling every where. All of a sudden, we hear these strange rumblings. After a while, they got louder and louder. Finally, when I looked out our window... "

When he didn't finish, the trio gulped. After a moment, Shawn continued "Anyway, after that, everything was a blur. I think we all just panicked."

Lori then set her hand on her brother's shoulder to calm him down. Shawn sighed as he looked at his sister. The trio waited silently for them to answer or continue. After a few moments, Shawn said "What I'm trying to say is, we're not like the rest of-of them."

"Hey, not here." Lori said

After a few minutes, they decided to go for a walk. Away from the crowded cabins. Some place where no one could hear them Once they were in the woods, Shawn continued "They're all here just for show. They haven't witnessed the Titans horror like the rest of us. Although, I'd be lying to myself if I'm not like the rest of them. I just want to join to MP's. I want to be of good use there. Since I'm a weapon specialist. Any weapon I have, I can fix it. Call me a coward if ya'll want."

"No, no, no. I wouldn't say that at all. Shawn, if you don't want to witness such gruesome deaths, I understand. It's okay to care for your own life. We all do." Bolin said

Do we? I'm going to return to the village that was taken from me. Every single one of those bastards deserves to die after what they did." Lori said with anger in her voice

Mako gasped at her aggressiveness. Her reason to become a soldier was very similar to his. It was kinda scary. Now, he knew how people felt when he was talking like that. It sent shivers down his spine. Shawn interrupted his thoughts by saying "What about you, Mako? Why did you sign for this?"

His eyes widened, looked down, and said "Why did I join?"

Then, memories of his mother being devoured by the Titan reappeared in his mind. It made him sick. Disgusted. Mako narrowed his eyes ahead and said "I vowed I'd kill them the day my village fell. That I'd kill every single one of them. Dead, all of them. Until all of them are rotting. Until they turn into corpses."

Lori looked at him in shock. 'That kid's got balls. I'll give him that.' she thought as they walked forward

Lori then asks "So, does that mean you're gonna go rogue? Or are you gonna give up?"

"No, not after what they did. Although, after the ODM screw up, I don't think I'm cut out be a soldier." Mako said

After a few more minutes, the group arrive at a cliff. It was dark at first but then the clouds moved out of the way and the moon shined. The bright, white light shined on a small lake. The moons right rays shined at the group. It was beautiful. It was unique. They have never seen anything like it. Lori then said "First, we'll work with belt adjustment. Then, by tomorrow, you'll be an expert. I know you've got what it takes. I can see it in you. Am I wrong?"

"No, you're right, about everything. Thank you, Collins. Thank you so much." Mako said with a warm smile. Bolin and Korra looked at each other and smiled. He can do it. They know he can. By tomorrow, he'll be good as new and won't be sent to the fields. It was a terrible and worthless place to be. And Mako was determined to do his best.

* * *

><p>The Next Day<p>

Everyone was out in the courtyard. Mako was on the ODM poles, waiting for the Commander to give the order to go. He was gonna do it. He was gonna succeed, and not go to the fields to work. Commander Riley walked up to him, tightened Mako's leather straps, and asked "Cadete O'Ryan, are you ready?"

In which, Mako saluted and said "Yes, sir!"

Commander Riley backed up a few steps and noded at the Cadete controlling the rotating switch. The Cadete noded back and started to turn the switch. Slowly, Mako was lifted off the ground. He set his hands on each side of his body and steadied himself to balance. As he was raised up, he thought 'This is it. The moment of truth. I may not be able to become a soldier, but nobody, nobody has more guts! To hell with working in the fields! I can do it!'

Everyone cheered as he balanced himself on the wires. He struggled at first but steadied himself. He smiled as he thought 'I did it? No, I'm doing it!'

But, his luck was short-lived. He then tumbled forward and hung upside down. He struggled to get up and shouted "No! Give me another chance! I can do it!"

Commander Riley closed his eyes and said "Put him down."

As Mako was hovered down to the ground, everyone looked at him in concern. Once he was sitting up, Mako whispered "I'm-I'm finished."

Commander Riley scanned Mako's face up and down. He gave Mako a curious look. He wondered why Mako was so determined to do this. After a moment, the Commander looked at Arron and said "Cadete Swan, trade your belt with O'Ryan."

"Uh, yes sir!" Arron said

Everyone became confused at the Commander's words. What was he doing? After Arron switched his belt with Mako, Mako was balancing normally on the wires. He didn't understand. How come his belt wouldn't work? Commander Riley then said "Your maneuver gear was broken. With some basic maneuver gear, you might not be useless after all. The Quarter Master didn't notice this broken clasp. Might have to go to the equipment department and crack a couple of skulls."

"So, I didn't wash out?" Mako asked

"You made the cut, O'Ryan." Riley said

Mako then shouted "Yes! I made it!"

'You'd be proud, San. Your son is a soldier.' Riley thought as he watched Mako

_To be continued..._


	5. Chapter Four

Other Enemies

_In the year 1925, two terrifying new breeds of Titan appeared. The Cloud and the Clone. Breaking through the walls of Raven District, Seryna Village as if whole sail destruction was childs play. In which, forced the population to retreat behind the walls of Phoenix District. Now, two years after the fall, Asami, my brother, and I are apart of one of the largest Cadete Corps group in history. Along the way, we met two special Southern Watertribe students, Korra Yaeger and her life long companion, Howl Yoshida. About four months into training, we are still learning more about our enemy but, there is more outside the fences than supposidly what the teachers are saying. The only question is: Are Titans our only enemy?_

* * *

><p>About four months into the Cadete Corps training, the once large group of Cadetes was now seperated in seven groups. Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E, Class G, and Class J. Each had at least thrity to forty students. Each Class has a rating of how much each student can do, how high their trust in each other are, and how much strength they can put into their skills. Mako, Korra, Howl, Asami, Bolin, Rosalie, Jinora, Kai, Lori, and Shawn were in Class A, Conner, Molly, Tahno, Marco, and Raven were in Class B, and the rest, they didn't know. Class A was always the ones to wake up earlier than usual and were the first ones to train in the field.<p>

It was 7:30 a.m. and Class A was already making rounds. They were to seperate into groups of two people and practice the top three types of combat: Hand-to-Hand Combat, Martial Arts, and Stealthy Focus. Now, Stealthy Focus was an assassin's type of art. They had to sneak up from behind their enemy and quickly exacute 'em. Now, Mako and Korra were on Martial Arts, and Mako wasn't doing very well. And Korra was kicking his ass. On the field, Mako was running towards Korra with a dagger. Korra then ducked his attack, wrapped her legs around his, grabbed his hand, set her foot behind his head, and pulled. Mako groaned in pain as she practically tried to dislocate his shoulder. After a few seconds, she let go and took the dagger from him. Mako held his shoulder, got up, and said "Man, you're really strong and fast for a girl. Who taught you how to fight like that?"

Korra turned around, gave a small laugh, and answered "I've told you this over a million times. My dad was the Chief of the Scouts and he taught me how to fight and defend myself. Are you asking the question repeatedly on purpose ot are you just trying to grave the answer in your head?"

"Both." Mako said with a smirk

Korra laughed in amusement, realizing the boy was just playing with her. He laughed with her. He loved her laugh, it was absolutely adorable. It wasn't usual that people would laugh now-a-days ,and it was special. After a minute, they got into their positions, this time Korra with the dagger. Within a few seconds, Korra ran straight towards Mako with the dagger in her hands at her side. Mako stood his ground as she came at him full speed. When she was just inches away from him, Mako threw a kick, in which, Korra tumbled and rolled on the ground to dodge. She quickly got back up and started to thrash and throw the wooden dagger at him. Mako ducked, backed up, moved to the sides, and jumped towards and rolled on the ground in order to dodge her attacks. At the last moment, Mako took the knife from her and was about to set it to her throat. But, Korra got the best of him. Just when he wrapped his arm around her neck, she grabbed his wrist with one hand and grabbed his hair with the other. Causing Mako to give out a small yelp as she tugged on his hair. With that, she pulled and tossed him over her shoulder, taking the dagger from him in the process. After a few seconds, he gave up. Korra smiled at him, and outstretched her hand to help him up. In which, Mako reached her hand, she helped him up, and Mako said "Damnit, why am I losing?"

"Mako, you're not accepting the fact that even if I'm a girl, you are holding back, a lot. You can't hold back, not one bit. This may be the start of Martial Arts training but there's no point in trying if you keep giving up. You need to relax and be as quick as you can." Korra explained

Mako then took off his uniform jacket, sighed, and said "Korra, I'm not like you. You're used to this kind of stuff. I'm not. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm even cut out to be a soldier. Better yet, a scout."

He then went to sit on a near by bench and sloped down to look at the ground. Korra looked at him in concern. He seemed off today, as if something was bothering him. Korra walked over, sat next to him, and asked "Mako, this isn't about the training, is it?"

"No, it's not. It's just that, it seems like everyone is against me and making my own decisions. Like every single things I say or do is rash and I haven't thought it through. But, the thing is, I have thought it through. It's like no one seems to trust on me anymore. It's not fair." Mako said in frustration

"Life's not fair. I think you've just been under a lot of stress. You have been training non-stop." Korra said

Mako gave her a 'hmph'. Korra lifted her one eyebrow in curiousity and an idea popped into her head. She smiled at him and set her index and middle fingers on the back of his neck. Korra then gently pressed against his neck, earning a gasp from Mako. It felt good. Korra slowly started to work her way gently down his spine. While she did, Mako asked "Where in the hell did you learn how to do this?"

Korra smiled and answered "My mom had two part time jobs. She was a nurse and was recently a physical theropist. She fixed a lot of patients with spinal problems. Damn, your muscles and spin are as stiff as tree bark. Now, I'm going to need you to remove your shirt, that way I can finish and fix your spine. If you don't mind, of course!"

Mako turned around to face her, smiled, and said "I don''t mind at all. Do what you need to do in order for me to get better."

With that, Mako stood up, set his hands on the hem of his shirt, and pulled his shirt over his hand. Korra looked at his torso in awe. He had a six pack but it wasn't as tight as she thought it was. He had a thin, white muscle shirt that didn't cover much of his torso as it should've. He had broad shoulders and his arms were muscled really well but still, not too tight. She noticed he was wearing a necklace that held an unusual looking object. The object was a large circle, in the circle was an upside down star with a small, redish orange jewel in the center. Korra recognized that symbol from some where, she just didn't know where or when. Mako interrupted her thoughts "Korra, are you okay? What are you staring at?"

Korra blinked, stood up, grabbed the object hanging from his neck, held it, and asked "Mako, what symbol is this? It's not United Republican. I doubt they sell or give these away."

Mako looked at her in confusion and answered "It's the Death Star. Usually, it's used as a contract seel, specifically for supernatural contracts people make with dark spirits and demons. Why?"

"It's just that, my dad had this symbol tattoed on the back of his neck. Except, he had a saphire in the middle, not a crimsonite. Is this yours?" Korra said as she stared at the metal object

"It was my fathers. He gave it to me the day Seryna Village was destroyed He said he was apart of some organization who's seel was this shape. Wait, what would the Watertribed be doing with this seel? My father said it was only in the United Republic and the Earth Kingdom." Mako said with a confused expression

"I don't know, but it's weird. Anyway, let's get your back back to normal before you break one of your vertabrates. Lay down on the bench. It'll be quicker this way." Korra explained

"Yeah, you're right." Mako agreed as he layed down with his back facing her and relaxed

* * *

><p>A Few Hours Later<p>

A few hours after training in the field, Class A was in the class of Titan Physiology. It wasn't that big of a subject, considering the very few amount of information than it used to have. They were on the subject of the Titans origins and how they perform their learning abilities. Everyone had a small book to follow along on the person who first experianced and wrote down what the Titans were like. Their teacher was Miss. Simmons. She was reading a paragraph from the book. "Basically, Titans were originally formed from humans but were built with little to no intelligence. Their physiology is very similar to ours but are missing some important parts. For one, a Titan uses only two to four percent of their brains copassity. However, their regenerating abilities are to argue against that. Who can give the answer of how a Titan's body regenerates?"

Almost immediatly, Howl raised his hand and stood up from his seat. Miss. Simmons then said "Yes, Howl."

"A Titan's regenerating power depends on the class that Titan is in. For example, a Titan within the four to seven meter range can regenerate up to thirty seconds. This is because they have a small body mass. However, a Titan's regenerating ability counts on two things. One, how much moisture and oxygen is in it's body. Two, there are a few ingrediants we have in the explosive powder we use for canon fire. However, over the past few centuries, the Titans have become immune to the explosive powder and now are more dangerous than ever." Howl answered swiftly

"Correct, the Titans are our enemy and has overtime become more scary than before. Now, how long can a Titan live?" Miss. Simmons asked

Rosalie raised her hand and said "A Titan's life span is up to the usual age we die. The average age is up to seventy-two years of age."

"Yes, Miss. Saski. A Titan's average age is seventy-two years old, but with abnormals, their life span is up to eight years of age. This is because their heart beats are faster than average because of the usual abnormal abilities. Running, jumping, and climbing. Uh, Mako, give me the ratio of abnormal encounters to normal's encounters." Miss. Simmons said

Mako looked up and saw that everyone was staring at him. Korra, who was on Mako's right, smile at him, set her hand on his shouler, and noded. He noded back and answered "The ratio is one sixth of the time."

"Yes, because abnormals are very rare. Now, here's a question that all of you must know, what are the Titans weak spots?" Miss. Simmons asked curiously

Korra raised her hand and stood up. She then answered "A Titan's weak spots are: one, the akilies heel, two, the spinal cord, and last, the nape of the neck."

"Yes, and now-" Korra interrupted her. "Miss. Simmons, there are other living creatures in the wilds, right? So, why are the teachers making Titans our only enemy? Is that true? Or, is there something else out there that you're not telling us about?"

Miss. Simmons eyes widened at the question Korra asked. Everyone was starring at Korra in shock. Why on earth would she ask the teacher that? Miss. Simmons gulped as sweat trickled down her face. Korra then said "If I were you, I'd answer honestly and carefully. No one likes to be lied to. Especially, me."

Everyone sat in silence, waiting for Miss. Simmons to say something. The silence in the room was awkward, and really disturbing. After a few minutes, Miss Simmons sigheg, took off her glasses, set the book down, set her hands on her desk, and said "Well, I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore. And, to answer your question Miss. Yaeger, yes. Titan's are not our only enemy. But, they are our main enemy."

Then, Jinora raised her and asked "Miss. Simmons, who is our enemy? Or enemies?"

The teacher looked up in curiousity. Everyone looked like they were on the edge of their seats. She then turned around to the chalk board, grabbed a piece of chalk, and started writing something. Everyone looked confused at her actions. Why didn't she just answer the question? It shouldn't be that hard to answer, right? After a minute, she was finished writing what she wrote, put the chalk away, turned around to face the class, and said "We have three other enemies, and all of them live the forest that guards Alice Springs. Banchie Forest. This was named because of the supernatural terradactals that live there. These creautures guard Alice Springs. However, the enemy I'm talking about are not the Banchies, they are the Hell Hounds. Hell Hounds are demons in the form of four to eight foot tall wolves. They hunt in packs. The second enemy are former asylum prisoners. They rebel and conduct experiments to destroy the world. Our third enemy is an association called Cross-Breached. Their plans are to turn Titans stronger and turn them against us. All of these enemies, you must kill on sight."

Asami raised her hand and asked "But, Miss Simmons, where did these enemies come from? I mean, they couldn't be worse than the Titans, could they?"

"Well, as you all know, the five main founders of the Nations. Roth Travete of the United Republic. Ruth Colete of the Fire Nation. North Vene of the Air Nomads. Joach Pentinete of the Watertribe. And, Byran Zimmer of the Earth Kingdom. They all made a compact to always obey the laws they agreed to. Although, one of them decided to break from this compact. Byran Zimmer did something unforgivable." Miss. Simmons answered

The class stayed quiet as Miss. Simmons continued her speech, "Byran had made a pact with a demon, which was forbidden. With the experiments he composed, it caused a fatal betrayle. Fortuantly, Byran was stopped and was killed by the demon he his pact with. His spirit and his demon roamed and finished the job by creating Hell Hounds, asylum prisons, and the Cross-Breached Association. This caused a lot of distress and uneasy peace all around the world. This happened before the Titans appeared. And the Death Star is their symbol. Now that's enough questions for today. You all may have free time until you're dismissed."

While everyone else started to talk amongst themselves, Mako and Korra were shocked at the information Miss. Simmons just told them. They looked at each other in worry, wondering what that was all out. They noded at each other, got up, and walked over to Miss. Simmons desk. Miss. Simmons looked up and asked "May I help you two?"

"Yes, may we be excused for a few minutes?" Mako asked

Miss. Simmons gave them a curious look and asked "Is there any funny buisness between you two?"

The pair blushed at the question. Korra shook her head fast while saying "No! No, no funny buisness. We just need to talk."

Miss. Simmons scanned the pair up and down with her eyes. After a moment of thinking, the teacher sighed and said "Fine, you two have ten minutes. If you two don't come back within two minutes after, I'll report you two for lying to a teacher slash soldier and suspiscious activity. Understood?"

The pair noded and said "Understood."

They then walked outside the class room and stood a few feet away from the doorway. Mako looked at Korra in concern, she looked like she was about to cry. She looked up at her friend and swallowed away her tears. Mako gave her a reassuring smile, even though he was upset himself. She was his friend, and now was one of those times when he needed to be there for her and she needed to be there for him. So, he gently grabbed her shoulders, and wrapped his arms around her neck while she wrapped hers around his torso. He whispered "Shh, it's okay. It's going to be okay."

But, they both knew, deep down, that it wasn't true.

* * *

><p>That Night<p>

Later that day, Mako had decided to lay down in his bed and think. It was after dinner, mostly everyone else was outside talking or fooling around. He was laying on his back with his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. Mako lied on his back, deep thought. Wondering what the information Miss. Simmons told the class today meant. What happened? And why did he and Korra feel guilty about it?

At that moment, Korra came into his mind. She had skipped dinner. About two hours before dinner, she had gone straight from their last class to her cabin. She must have felt embarassed because of the new information they recieved earlier about the Death Star symbol and it's origins. He felt bad himself, but not as much as she did. Korra wasn't an emotional person when it came to small insults or mistakes. But, when it came to her parents and those she cares about, she would become furious or upset. It was clear that she put others needs before herself.

Mako smiled to himself, realizing that her selflessness was one of the qualities he admired about her. She was special indeed.

Mako wished he could help cheer her up and make her forget about it in some way. Maybe tell her jokes or tell her stories that have happy endings. No, those kinds of things don't exist, and Korra knew that.

Then, an idea popped into his head. He could pay her a visit right now. So, he got up, put on his cloak, and walked outside. It was almost December and it's been getting cold at night. He wasn't in his uniform. They were allowed to change into their own set of clothes before dinner. No one stopped him when he grabbed a flashlight and started walking towards Korra's cabin. Mako didn't have to worry about being attacked, one, because no one could get into the camp. Two, because he always carried his knife with him. After walking for twenty minutes, he got to Korra's cabin. Mako sighed as he gently knocked on Korra's door. He heard her from the other side ask "Who is it?"

Mako then answered "It's your friend from Republic City. I want to talk to you. It's important."

After a few minutes, Korra finally opened the door, smiled, and said "You came in at a good time. I was just making some tea and having leftovers of apple pie. Come in and I'll get another cup and slice for you."

Mako smiled at her enthusiasum and walked in. Korra told him to go ahead and sit in the chair across from her bed while she got everything ready. As she worked in the kitchen, Mako looked around the room. It was Watertribe themed. It looked... cozy. Like he was at home and wrapped in a warm blanket. It was nice. After about five minutes of waiting, Korra came back with a tray in her hands. The food smelled good. As she got everything ready, Mako thought 'She can cook too? Man, what can't she do? She's like the perfect girl/super soldier.'

Korra gave him a tea cup, got herself a cup, sat down on her bed, and drank her tea. She wasn't smiling anymore, and Mako noticed. He figured she'd act like this if he came to see her. When she was half way done with her tea, she looked at her reflection in the tea. She felt empty. Mako looked at her in concern. So, he sighed, set his tea to the side, got up, and sat next to her. He looked at her and asked "Korra, what's going on with you? You've been acting depressed ever since we left Miss. Simmons class. Don't tell me you're still upset over this."

Korra looked up, but not at him. Instead, she was looking in the mirror across from her bed. Mako looked in it as well. After a moment, Korra said "Mako, look at us in the mirror. Tell me what you see."

Mako looked in the mirror but only saw them. He didn't know what she was getting to. So, he sighed and said "I see you and me. Just us."

"No, look closer. And deeper. You'll see something very strange." Korra said, still looking at the mirror

So, Mako narrowed his eyes at the mirror. After a few minutes, he noticed a few figures behind them. He looked closer and widened his eyes when he realized what they were. He saw his mother, she was standing behind him with a smile on her face and her hands on his shoulders. He looked to the side and saw two people behind Korra. It was a man and a woman. The man had long hair that reached his shoulders. He was very tall and muscular. He had about the same color skin and eyes as Korra. The woman was short. She had dark blue eyes and a little bit darker skin. Her hair was put into two, messy pony tails that hovered over her shoulders. Although, when he looked at Korra, she was about two years younger and her eyes were... dark gray blueish. Her normal eye color is sky blue. When he looked at himself, he gasped. He looked thirteen again except his eyes were blood shot reddish gold. He set one of his hands over his mothers. Korra then asked him again "Mako, what do you see now?"

He hesitated at first because he couldn't find the words. After about three minutes of thinking. Mako finally said "I-I-My-my mother and our younger selves. Our eyes are a different color. Korra, those people behind you, are those two your parents?"

Korra looked at the ground in saddness and said "Yes, they're my parents. Their names are Tonraq and Senna. What's your mothers name?"

"Carly. Carly Anna Scott O'Ryan. Korra, what kind of mirror is this?" Mako asked carefully

"This is a very special mirror. Only the Air Nomads make these. It's called 'The Mirror of Paranormal Reflections'. It shows the people you care about most that have passed on from this world. This mirror also shows your true colors and the nature of our minds. My true colors are unclear. But I can tell what your are. Your determination." Korra explained

Mako's eyes widened. What did she mean? Then, something popped into his mind. He was curious. So, he looked at Korra and asked "Korra, how come your true nature is unclear?"

Korra looked at him and answered "Because the mind can take so much, that you can be decieved. I have seen so much death and destruction that it's made me confused and make my emotions go berserk. I have been in the shadows for so long that my mind's been corrupted. Every time I see them in the mirror, it makes me feel even more guilty. It's not fair."

Mako then wrapped his arms around her and rocked her back and forth as she cried. He felt even worse because she was so young when she lost her parents. After a while, he let go, set his hands on her cheeks, and said "Listen, I know what that feels like. Trust me, I do. And I'm going to help you get through this. I promise."

Korra gave him a sad expression, looked down, and asked "Mako, why? We've been friends for four months, why would you go so far for me?"

Mako set his hands on her chin and made her look at him. Her eyes read saddness. It was heart breaking. Mako gave her a reassuring smile and said "Because you're my friend. And I never turn my back on my friends when they need me most. And I promise to never leave you alone."

Korra's eyes widened as she was told the concern words. She clenched her jaw, squeezed her eyes shut, wrapped her arms around his neck, and cried into his neck. Mako wrapped his arms around her torso and rocked her back and forth to calm her down. After thirty minutes, Korra stopped crying and her body went limp. Mako noticed and brought her back a little. She fell asleep. Mako smiled as she shook his head. She was a mess. He then wrapped his right hand on her back, wrapped the other under her legs, lifted her up, and carried her to bed. He gently laid her on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and said "Korra, you are one of a kind. What happened to your parents? How was you city destroyed?"

_To be continued..._


	6. Chapter Five

First Encounters

_In the year of 1925, two terrifying new breeds of Titan appeared. The Cloud and the Clone. Breaking through Seryna Village walls as if whole sail destruction was childs play. As the Titans non-stop advanced, our only choice was to retreat behind the walls of Phoenix District. Over 20% of Republic City's population was lost. Two years after the fall, Asami, my brother, and I joined the two hundred ninety-fourth Cadete Corps. Along the way, we met two special Watertribe students, Korra Yaeger and her life long companion, Howl Yoshida. Within four months, we learned that Titans were not our only enemy. Although, ever since Korra and I became friends, I've always wondered how Korra's city was destroyed. Korra, I have a question for you: What happened to Limpten City? What happened to your parents? What happened... to you?_

* * *

><p><span>December 18, 1927<span>

It was eight days before Christmas, and Class A was training in the lower thirty, high forty's temperatures. They were always the first class to train. It made everyone complain because of the cold, that is except Korra and Howl. They were used to the cold, since they were from the Southern Watertribe. While everyone was training in wet suites and cloaks, those two were training in their normal uniform with wet suites under the uniforms.

Although, something was off. Mako has noticed that ever since they entered the month of December, Korra has been uncouprative of her social media. She hasn't been talking to anyone other than Howl and she was barely eating. Usually, she was starving when they ate and she was talk-a-tive with her friends. Mako tried to talk to her whenever he could, but in the end, she would refuse or shut him out. It made Mako worry about her health. Both physical and mental health. Today, he had went to see Commander Riley and ask him about what was going on with Korra. He also asked where Korra was because no one has seen her within two days. Although, what the Commander told him, shocked him and sent shivers down his spine. She had gone to the Southern Watertribe Capital. So, he asked the Commander if he could go and was granted permission to find her.

Mako left for the Southern Watertribe the next morning. It took about two days for him to get there. It was a pain. First, he had to make a five hour train transport to the Earth Kingdom coast and take a thirty-six hour boat ride to the Southern Watertribe Capital. All he had on his mind was Korra, and she was the one to keep him moving.

**BEEEEEP!**

Mako woke up to a loud horn. It was the boat's horn that either it was heading to open sea or near their destination. They were near the Southern Watertribe Capital's harbor. Mako yawned as he stretched against the hard wood floor. He had slept on the boat's hard wood deck at the bow. It wasn't easy falling asleep but he managed. Mako then grabbed his bag, got up, and walked to the railing. Mostly, everyone on the boat was Watertribe, except the crew. He then looked ahead as he leaned over the railing. They were entering colder weather and there was fog every where.

After a few minutes, the fog cleared up and the Capital was clear in sight. Mako's eyes widened at the sight There were Titans stuck in the gate of the tunnel into the harbor. The boat's horn went off again and he saw soldiers start to cut down the Titans. Mako was stunned. That was the Capital's Wall Scouting Regement. They were actually putting the bastards down. The gate then opened to let them in. Mako's eyes were as wide as tennis balls. Korra was right. The walls weren't concrete walls, they were hard crushed ice and snow pounded fences. Korra said the material they used was harder then the metal they use to make cars. Mako looked up and saw that the soldiers were giving him suspicsious looks. He then felt someone's hand on his shoulder, lean towards his ear, and whispered "I'd keep my guard up if I were you. The Capital doesn't exactly welcome outcasts very easily."

Mako then felt a shiver go down his spine as the person removed his hand from his shoulder. After a moment, Mako turned around but didn't see anyone. Mako gave this a confused expression. What was he talking about? Outcasts? His thoughts were interrupted by the boat making a turn and slowing down. Once the boat stopped, set the ladder to the boat, Mako walked off the boat and stopped to look around. The place was like a suburb but a rural market. The streets were small. The place was full of people and snow. It was incredible.

Mako then started to walk through the market. As he walked around he noticed that people were giving him anger expressions and starres. He gulped as he passed a few soldiers. Mako started to feel really uncomfortable. When he came to a stop, he saw five guys smoking and drinking while staring at him in disgust. So, Mako gulped and ran ahead. One of the guys smirked and gestured his comrades to follow him.

* * *

><p>In the cemetary, outside of the village, Korra was starring at her parents graves in saddness. Today was the anniversary of her city's destruction and the death of her parents. She sighed as she fell on her knees. After a moment, she set a patch of flowers on their graves and said "I love you, mom and dad. I'm doing great in the Cadete Corps. I've made some new friends. One of them is very kind, honest, and likes me for me. He says I'm special. I really, really miss you guys, and I-"<p>

"Korra! Come quick!" she heard Howl shout as he ran towards her. Korra turned around, stood up, and looked at Howl in confusion. He looked like he had seen a blood bath or something. Once he got to Korra, he rested his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath, Korra asked "Howl, calm down. What's going on? Is something wrong?"

After a moment, Howl looked at her and said "Down... by the docks. It's Mako. He's being assulted by a gang!"

Korra's eyes widened at this. In which, Korra and Howl ran towards the village. As they ran through the village, they saw more people heading towards the right side of the fence. So, they ran towards the crowd and started to push through it. As she got closer, she could hear Mako's voice shouting. Once she got to the front and saw Mako being held by some gang leader. Mako was held by his neck. The guy was choking him. Mako shouted "Let me go! I didn't do anything!"

"Oh, yes you did. You came onto out turf without permission! I'm gonna beat you so bad, no one will be able to recognize you!" the gang leader shouted before carving Mako's chest with his knife through Mako's shirt, causing blood to flow out. Korra's eyes widened as Mako screamed in pain. She clenched her teeth and ran towards the man. In which, she punched him in the jaw while shouting "Get away from him, you son of a bitch!"

To which, the man fell to the ground while everyone around them gasped in shock. They never thought someone from their Nation would protect someone from another Nation. Especially a fifteen-year-old girl. Korra backed up to Mako with her front still facing the man that tortured her friend. She clenched her jaw as she narrowed her eyes at the man in anger. The man then got up as he held his jaw. Once he had his vision back, he growled at Korra and said "Get out of the way girl, or I'll give you a beating like him."

Korra clenched her hands to control herself and growled "No."

The man then brought out a gun and pointed it at Korra's chest. Everyone gasped and quickly stepped back. Korra narrowed her eyes at the man, gave him a 'hmph', and said "Go ahead. Shoot me. I dare you. That is if you've got the balls to do it."

The man gripped the gun with both of his hands, started to sweat, pulled back the switch, and said "I'm warning you. If you don't move out of the way, I'll shoot both you and the boy. You've got ten seconds to move. One... "

Mako's eyes widened as the man pointed his gun at them and counted down. Although, everyone could tell that the man was nervous. Has he ever killed someone in cold blood before? Specifically, a woman? "Two... Three... Four... Five... Si-" the man counted down until a soldier grabbed his hands

The man was startled and looked at the soldier. The soldier had dark brownish black hair that reached to his lower neck. He had light tan skin. He was tall and muscular/lean. Broad shoulders. Last, but not least, he had blueish light gray eyes Everyone gasped at this. The pair of Cadetes stood still. The soldier then said in a deep, scratchy voice "That's enough, Shane. You don't want to be responsible for the deaths of two Class A Cadetes, do you?"

"C-Commander Noatak, I-I was... " Shane said nervously

"What? You were just what? Because it seems to me, you were beating this boy for no reason, and in front of a crowd. What exactly were you trying to do? Prove something? If so, what were you trying to prove?" Noatak said

Shane didn't answer, instead he just lowered the gun. Howl, in the crowd, sighed with relief. Mako and Korra then relaxed and stayed calm. Noatak then took the gun away from Shane, gave it to one of his comrades, looked back at Shane, and said "That's what I thought. Now, go back to that little hell hole of yours, take your friends with you, and don't disturb the civilians with this bull-crap anymore. Leave!"

In which, Shane jumped in startlment, motioned his friends to follow him, and ran in the other direction. With that, the crowd dispatched. Howl ran towards the pair and hugged them. They hugged back. Once they let go, Korra faced Mako and narrowed her eyes at him in disappointment. Mako gave Korra a nervous smile. Korra growled and slapped his right cheek hard. Howl looked at Korra in shock. Mako felt his cheek burn and turn red. He held his cheek as he looked at Korra in shock and heart break.

Korra's eyes welled up with tears as she gave him a frustrated expression and shouted "Idiot! I told you not to come here! Do you realize what could've happened?! That man would've done things a whole lot worse the torturing you! Do you realize that?! He would've killed you if I hadn't saved your sorry ass!"

Mako looked at her in shock. He then thought 'What? Why is she yelling at me if she's upset? What's going on with her?'

Korra continued to lecture him, "Do you think I told you this shit for nothing?! Honestly, what were you thinking?! When Howl told me what was going on, it scared me to death! Why did you come here in the first place?! Why?!"

That hit a nerve. Mako clenched his jaw and shouted "Because I was worried about you, damnit! When the Commander told me where you were, I panicked! Honestly Korra, you scared the living hell out of me! I didn't know if you were dead, alive, or worse! Jesus Christ, you could've just told me where you were going and we wouldn't be having this conversation! Why did you leave without telling me?!"

"Because you wouldn't understand! Like the Commander said, Howl and I have been through more crap than any of you could imagine! So, stay out of our buisness and leave me alone! I wouldn't expect a Republican like you to understand." Korra said but immidiatly regretted it the moment she realized what she said. Mako gasped in shock. He couldn't believe what she had just said. Korra's eyes widened as she set her hand over her mouth. Mako lost his breath as he slowly stepped back and away from her. Korra tried to explain that she didn't mean it but Mako ran off with tears running down his cheeks. Howl sighed, walked up to Korra, and said "Go get him. I'll explain to the Commander what happened. You go get the idiot and come back. You have a lot of explaining to do."

Mako walked down a less crowded street in anger with tears streaming constantly down his cheeks and off of his chin. He had his jaw clenched so tight to the point where he was bitting on his cheek and drawing blood. He couldn't believe it. He had put his trust and love into an ousider, and all he gets is a slap in the face and a broken heart in return. He came to a stop by a smooth, white bricked wall, turned his hands into fist, and thought 'I can't believe this. I was honest and put me faith into her. I can't believe I was such a fool. What was I to her? A pawn? Something she can use as a tool to shield her from death? This is what I get for being friends with a Watertibe member.'

Mako looked at the bricked wall, put down his bag, lifted his right fist, and punched the wall as hard as he could. Korra caught him in her sight and her eyes widened. He was trying to beat himself up by hitting the wall. Tears welled up in her eyes, she clenched her jaw, and ran towards him. Once she got to him, she grabbed his hands while saying "Mako, stop! What are you doing?!"

Her eyes widened at his hands. He had bruises, cuts, and blood covering his hands. Mako narrowed his eyes at her in anger, retracted his hands from hers, closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and punched the wall again. Korra set her hand over her mouth in shock. What has she done? Before he could beat himself again, Korra quickly wrapped her arms around his torso from behind, was holding him back as he tries to fight back and pull away from her grasp, she cried "No! Mako, stop! What I said back there wasn't true! I sware, it wasn't! Please, stop!"

As he tried to pull away from her, Korra struggled to turn him around and face her. Once she had him facing her, she gently grabbed his, made him make eye contact with her, and cried "Mako! Please!"

When Mako saw her face, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Korra had tears constantly streaming down her face and her cheeks were as pink as cherry blossoms. He backed up with Korra's arms still wrapped around his torso until his back touched the white wall. He and Korra slid down into the clear white snow. Korra unwrapped her arms, clenched his shirt collar, and cried into his chest.

Mako looked down at her in shock as cried into his shirt. Why was she doing this? Why did she stop him from hurting himself? While Korra cried, Mako asked her "Korra, why-why did you... ?"

Korra continued to cry. Mako could tell she was really upset. By the way she was crying, he could tell she was truly sorry for her actions. Once Korra stopped crying, she looked up at him and answered "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Mako. What I said wasn't true. I sware it isn't. I was just angry that you didn't listen to me. Please forgive me. Please, please. I knew I don't deserve it but please. I just want you to know that I'm sorry and what I did wasn't fair to you."

With that, Korra started to cry again into his shirt. Mako's eyes widened at her actions. She was breaking down not just in front of him but on him. So, Mako gave her a concerned expression, hugged her, and whispered "I forgive you, Kor. Just tell me when you're gonna travel, otherwise; our friendship won't work. Do you understand?"

In which, Korra noded against his chest, saying that 'yes' she understood. After a moment of calming down, Korra looked up at Mako, let go of his shirt, sniffed, and said "I need to show you something. It's the reason why I left."

* * *

><p>The Capital's Cemetary<p>

Korra and Mako stood in front of Korra's parents graves. Mako looked at the grave stones in saddness. He never was able to dig graves for his parents. Korra didn't dig her parents graves, someone else did. At least, Korra still had them in her home. So, Mako knelt down at the doot of their graves, took out two winter lilies, and laid them on their graves.

Korra knelt down with him and held his hand. Mako, without turning away from her parents graves, asked "Korra, I've been meaning to ask you this. What happened to your parents? How did your city get destroyed?"

Korra sighed and said "I remember that night very well. It was dark, clear, and you could see the galaxies every where. The city was full of life. A celebration of marriage had taken place... "

* * *

><p><span><em>~Flashback~<em>

_Everything was dark. The sky was purple-dark blue. The stars were active and bright. The Southern Lights were colorful and bright. There was a celebration going on at the border of the inner gate. The law was for everyone at the age of twenty and up to attend. Including Tonraq, Senna, and Howl's parents. That night, Howl was spending the night at Korra's house, and that was going to be a night they will never forget._

_Korra was in her bedroom with her two month old polar bear dog cub,Naga, laying in between her legs while she read her favorite book for the twentieth time in a row. Korra sat cross legged on the top bed of her bunk bed. She had a bunk bed because when ever Howl slept over, he'd sleep on the bottom bunk bed._

_She was reading a three hundred thrity-four paged book called 'Second Chancs'. It was a story about a woman who goes to jail because of stealing from a drug store and smoking an illigel drug. The woman struggles to get through. Eventually, she prays and asks God for forgivness. And in the end, her life get's better. Korra loved this book because it was even three hundred thirteen years old and it was written before Titans ever came down to the Earth and put them to the brink of exinction. The book has always kept her faith going._

_Korra's thoughts were interrupted by Naga tugging at the hem of her shirt. Korra put down her book and picked her up. The cub wagged her tail in excitment and barked. Korra smiled, cuddled her to her chest, and asked the pup "You're very hyper, aren't you? Do you want to play or sleep?"_

_As an answer, the cub licked Korra's chin and barked in exitment. To which, Korra smiled and laughed. So, the cub **did** want to play. Korra then held Naga in one arm, climbed down the ladder on the bunk bed, and put Naga down when she got to the floor. Korra then put on her snow boots, gloves, and fur coat, and walked into the hallway. Korra looked around for Naga's ball. The dog always has a habit of losing her toys, especially the tennis ball. Before Korra could get to the living room, she heard her mom shout "Korra, sweetheart, can you come here for a moment?!"_

_Korra groaned and obeyed her mother. She found her in the kitchen making dessert for the wedding. Korra went to the counter and asked "Yes ma'am? What do you need?"_

_"Can you get me a box of strawberries from the ice box? I'd be very greatful if you did." Senna said while she poured and mixed the ingrediants. Korra complied and went into the cabinet where the ice box was. She opened it and grabbed the box of strawberries. But before she went back, Korra saw her father's awards and badges hanging on the wall. She sighed in saddness. She never understood why her dad resigned when she was born. Her father was the best general of the Scout Regement the Watertribe has ever seen and he just threw it all away like it was nothing of importance. Korra then went back into the kitchen and brought her mother the strawberries._

_As Korra was about to walk away, her mother asked "Sweetheart, is something bothering you? You seem pretty quiet today."_

_"Is it okay if I can be quiet for once?" Korra asked_

_"Yes, but usually when you're quiet, something's troubling you. It's a mother's instinct. So, what's wrong?" Senna asked as she knelt to Korra's height_

_Korra sighed and said "I just understand why someone's stupid wedding is such a big deal to the government."_

_Senna set her hands on Korra's shoulders and said "Sweetheart, it's not because the wedding is such a big deal, it's because the government wants us to be polite and enjoy our time of fun. You'll understand someday."_

_Korra sighed, turned around, and went outside with Naga. Senna looked after her in concern. Korra was always one for getting frustrated easily. She defenitly got that from her father._

* * *

><p><span><em>That Evening<em>

_Korra was sitting on top of the outer wall fence, looking out to sea. Naga was sitting next to her, sleeping. Korra rubbed her belly slowly. She was deep in thought, just thinking about her father's previous job. She has always wanted to be a scout ever since she was six years old. Her inspiration was her father. He was the top best soldier ever in the South. Korra smiled at the thought of fighting at his side. HEr thoughts were interrupted by a familiar, feminine voice "Hey, squart, what 'cha doing up here?"_

_Korra looked up and saw her friend. She was a Wall Scouting soldier, one of the best actually. So, Korra sighed, looked away, and said "Just thinking. Nothing special. And, Lara, are you taking the night shift? You won't get enough sleep tonight if you are."_

_Lara chuckled, sat down on the opposite side Naga wa laying on next to Korra, and said "Well, aren't you a smart one. And, yes, I'm taking the night shift. It's not my first time. Besides, I'm needed on guard tonihgt. I didn't have choice."_

_Korra gave her a confused look and asked "Why?"_

_"We got a message from the Southern Scout Survey Corps this morning from the Capital. Apparently, there is a large herd of Aberents coming towards us. If any abnormal got over or put a hole in the fences, we're gonna have major problems. So, tonight we're gonna have to have the best soldiers on look out. Including me." Lara explained with concern in her voice_

_Korra's eyes widened at this. She gulped when she asked "How many? How many Aberents are in the herd?"_

_Lara sighed as she rubbed her fingers on her temples and answered "At least eighty of them. Maybe more."_

_The Nations called the Titans by different names. The United Republic and Earth Kingdom called them Titans. The Fire Nation called them Giants. The Watertribes called them Aberents. And the Air Nomads called them Peace Walkers. Korra sighed in frustration and asked "Are all the lights going off?"_

_Lara noded as an answer. All of a sudden, there was a small shifting movement on the fence. So, the pair looked down and saw a Titan gitting the fence. Korra grabbed Naga as the pair stood up. Lara narrowed her eyes at it and told Korra "You should go. It's starting. I'll take care of this one."_

_In which, Lara used her manuever gear to lower herself to it. Korra sighed and walked down to the village streets. Once Korra got home, she opened the door, and saw Howl sitting at their table. So, she clesed the dooe behind her and said "Howl? What are you doing?"_

_Howl turned around, smiled at her, and said "Oh, hey Korra. I was just thinking, that's all. Where were you?"_

_"I went to the field to play with Naga, then I went to sit on the fence to think for a while." Korra answered_

_Before Howl could say something, Korra's parents came in the room, and Senna said "Okay, we're off."_

_Howl and Korra followed them to the door. Tonraq put on Senna's jacket for her. Tonraq faced his daughter, knelt down to her height, lifted her chin, and said "Don't leave the house unless it's an emergency. And don't stay up too late. Both of you."_

_Korra and Howl noded. Korra then gave her dad a confused look. She noticed that her father was wearing his scout uniform. So, Korra looked at her father and asked "Why are you wearing your officers uniform?"_

_Tonraq stood up and said "Just in case they need me tonight. You can never be prepared or surprised."_

* * *

><p><span><em>One 'o Clock A.M.<em>

_Everything was peaceful. Quiet. Nothing to be disterbed. The sky was clear, no Southern Lights, no clouds, just stars. The sky was black. Not blue, not dark purple, it was black. There were no lights in the village except on the otherside of the inner gate, where the wedding party was taking place. The village was in absolute silence. Nothing was heard or was in sight._

_Korra was sleeping soundly on the top bunk bed with Naga cuddled under the covers by her chest. All that could be heard in the house was the clock ticking. After a few moments, the clock stopped ticking. Then, all of a sudden, there was rumbling. This caused Korra to wake up with a jolt. She groaned as the rumbling continued. She pushed her pillow to her ears while saying "They must be testing the bombs again."_

_After a few minutes, Naga lifted her ears, stood up on all fours, sniffed for a moment, and gave a low, vicsious snarling sound. She had her teeth showing and her ears tucked back. Korra put the pillow back on the mattress, turned over on her side, and groaned, telling Naga to stop growling. After a few moments, there came out of nowhere, a blood curdling shriek. This caused Korra to jolt up in shock and looked around in confusion. She then heard gunshots while the shrieking continued. That sent shivers down her spine. Korra gulped and started to sweat in nervousness. All of a sudden, the shrieks were stopped by a huge rumble and an animal-like scream. As the rumblings continued, Korra thought 'What-What the hell was that? They don't test the bombs in the interior at all. Wait, the herd of Aberents. They couldn't-they couldn't have gotten in. They couldn't have.'_

_So, Korra took Naga in her arms and slowly climbed down the ladder. At that moment, Howl came into her mind. So, she looked on the bottom bunk to see him but he was nowhere in sight. Korra gasped at this. Where in the hell was he at this hour? As the rumblings got closer, Naga barked and growled louder. Korra then said "Shh, Naga no. Stop."_

_After a few seconds, Naga lowered her tone. Korra then set her down on the floor, quickly put on her boats and fur coat, grabbed Naga, and ran outside of the house. She stopped running once she came across tall buildings. She stopped to catch her breath for a moment. After a few seconds, Naga started to bark and growl again. Korra then put Naga inside her coat and told her to keep it down, but Naga wouldn't stop growling. The rumblings got louder and closer towards her. So, she ran ahead and as fast as she could. What the hell was going on? She didn't know if this was a dream or reality. She couldn't tell. Korra turned a corner and hit her back on a wall. Once the rumblings got farther away, she sighed with relief. But when she made a turn around, she gave out a shriek, fell on her back, and backed away in fear._

_Korra's eyes were as wide as baseballs and her mind was in shock. She wanted to turn away but couldn't. There was blood covering the buidling walls and turning the ground into crimson snow. There were body parts on the ground where the blood lay. There were three hands, a foot, a leg, and what made Korra's dinner come up her throat, was a severed man's head with blood pouring out of the open neck. Soon enough, she felt it coming up her throat. To which, she fell on all fours and started to throw up her dinner. The shock amount of fear she had was too much for her body to take._

_After she couldn't throw up anymore, she started to weep. It was just too much for her. But her time for moarning came to be short lived. There were rumblings coming towards her. So, she quickly got up and ran as fast as she could go. As she ran, she heard a woman's shriek and a crash. Korra ran towards that direction. As she ran, Korra thought 'Why is this happening? Are the Aberents in or not?'_

_She turned the corner where she heard the screams and stopped in her tracks. She gasped at the sight. Korra froze in place with fear. There was a Titan eating a woman with blood dripping every where. Korra heard the chomps and chunks of the woman's bones breaking and her muscles being torn apart. To which, the rumblings her back to reality and she ran back in the direction she came from. Korra then turned and hid in a small ally way. As the rumblings got closer, she thought 'Crap. They're every where. How am I supposed to get to the inner gate without getting caught by one of them? I don't even know which damn street I'm on.'_

_Her thoughts were interrupted by Naga's barking with her head popping out of Korra's coat. Korra then gasped as the rumblings got even closer to where she was. Her eyes widened as she perred her head slightly past the corner to see a fifteen meter walking and looking around. Once it turned it's head in her direction, she quickly brought her head back, looked at Naga, who was still barking, and whispered "No, no, no, no. Shh, Naga. Be quiet. Shh."_

_But Naga didn't obey. So, as the Titan got closer, Korra had no choice but to cover Naga's mouth with her hand. Her hand kept Naga's noise into a mummbling sound, but she suspected the Titan could still hear her dogs noises. The Titan slowly walked towards the ally where she was hiding. After a few minutes, it stopped right beside where Korra was, growled, and looked around. Korra's breathing became very unsteady, started to sweat in nervousness, and gulped. In her mind, she was praying 'Pleas don't spot me. Please don't spot me. Please, God, please don't let it spot me.'_

_Just when she turned her head to the otherside of the ally, there was a street on the otherside that led straight to the main inner gate. So, she narrowed her eyes at the Titan and slowly and as quickly as possible moved to the otherside of the ally. Once she thought she was clear, she quietly walked down the street, but her luck was short lived._

_When she was about a quart ways down the road, the fifteen meter turned it's head in her direction, spotted her, roared, and started running full speed at her. Korra turned her head around, widened her eyes at the sight, and started running as fast as she could. This didn't seem right, how did it spot her when she was out in the open, but not when she was cornered? So, Korra decided to make a turn because if she kept going straight, it would catch her. The Titan then slid on it's knees, threw it's hand towards her but missed and broke a roof. Korra screamed in panic as the roof flew into her direction. In which, she tumbed down a hill and the debris missed her. As she slid down, the Titan roared and slid down after her. She gasped as she looked back and saw it coming at her full speed. 'What?! This thing is still coming after me?! It's like a damn athlete for Christ sake.!'_

_When she came to a stop, she ran to an ally, took Naga out of her coat, looked at her, and said "Naga, get to the inner gate and get my dad. Warn him that Aberents are in the city. Go!"_

_To which, Naga barked and ran off towards the inner gate. Korra then ran into the street, suspecting to find the Titan in front of her, but didn't. She gave this a confused expression. Where was it? All of a sudden, she felt someone grab her torso and was brought inside an abandoned building. Korra was set free and was about to attack but the voice of her best friend stopped her "Korra, are-are you okay?"_

_Korra's eyes widened as she looked at her best friend. Her eyes welled up with tears, clenched her jaw, and hugged Howl. He hugged her back. After a few moments, they broke away. and Howl said "Thank God you're alright. Wait, where's Naga?"_

_"I set her to warn my dad." Korra answered_

_"Korra, the Aberents are almost at the wedding. Your mother was nowhere to be found but you dad's on duty." Howl told her with a concerned expression_

_Korra's eyes widened as she said "Oh, no."_

* * *

><p><em>After being chased for a while, Korra and Howl finally got to the inner gate to find Titans devouring people. The blood. The screams. The panic. It was too much. Korra then spotted her father and the pair ran to him. Tonraq saw his daughter and sighed with relief, she was alright.<em>

_Korra ran over and hugged him. He was alive but where was her mother? She let go, looked at her father, and asked "Wait, where's mom?"_

_Tonraq looked away as an answer. Korra gasped at this. Her mother was gone. Dead. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the ground. Tonraq took her by her shoulders, looked at her, and said "Korra, listen to me. You have to get out of here and to the Capital. Tell them what happened. There's nothing left for you here anymore."_

_Korra's eyes widened at this. She clenched her jaw. Did her father really expect her to leave him behind? Hell no! So, she shouted "I can't! I won't! I won't let the Aberents take you away!"_

_Tonraq narrowed his eyes at her, noded at Howl, and said "I won't let you see this. Stay alive. Howl is going to be taking care of you from this day forward. Howl, get her out of here."_

_Just when Howl was about to grab Korra, she wrapped her arms around her father's torso and shouted "No! I'm not leaving you here! I won't let you!"_

_Tonraq noded at Howl, he noded back, and quickly put Korra over his shoulder. Korra started to scream and struggle to get out of Howl's grip as he ran. She cried while stretching out her hand for her father. Tonraq's eyes welled up with tears as he pulled out a remote. Naga, out of nowhere, appeared from Howl's jacket. She whined as Howl ran. Korra had tears constantly streaming down her red cheeks. Once Tonraq knew they were out of range, he set his thumb on the button and whispered "I love you, sweetheart. I'll always be in your heart, forever."_

_And just like that, the city was sent into flames. Korra's eyes widened as she cried "No!"_

_~End of Flashback~_

* * *

><p>"... Howl and I walked thirty miles before the Scout Regement found us in the frozen tundra. We were brought to the Military Police Commander and he told us that we were gonna have to be trained as assassins for two years After we told them what had happened that is. Within a few days, we were brought to the Solviet Union Assassins Tomb. Before we could even train, they marked us with their symbol. While they literally melted the symbol into the nape of my neck, they carved the symbol into Howl's left side. The amount of torturous things they did to us was unknown. Howl and I have so many scars marked by them that no one can count." Korra ended with her eyes welling up with tears<p>

Mako's eyes were as wide as baseballs. He couldn't believe that what happened to her city was so much worse than what happened to his village. It was very heartbreaking. So, he just said "Wow, that's really depressing. But, why did the people that trained you and Howl torture you guys?"

"It was as dicipline when ever we did something wrong on accident or made a mistake." Korra answered

"How exactly did they dicipline you two?" Mako asked with concern

Korra's eyes widned at the question. The horrible memories came back.

_~flashback~_

_"Ahh! Please, stop! I'm sorry! We both are! We've learned our lesson!"_

_*whipping sound*_

_-screams-_

_"Not until I've had enough fun. There's no other dicipline other than pain. You both know that better than anyone else, don't you? Ha ha ha ha!"_

_*whipping sound*_

_-screams-_

_~end of flashback~_

Korra clenched her teeth in anger as tears streamed down her cheeks. Mako gasped at this. My be he shouldn't have asked her that. Korra then answered "T-They, they whipped our backs. An-and it wasn't a certain amount. The-They whipped us how ever much they wanted. Howl and I shed most our blood the first year. We losed over 60% of our blood each. I-I wanted to die, so badly."

Mako's eyes widened even bigger. Those assholes did deserve to die after what they did to his friends. But he didn't get angry at this, instead he wrapped his arms around his friend's shoulders and hugged her as she cried into his chest. Her life was unforgivable. Life itself is unforgivable. That's what Mako learned from her that. And he never forgot it.

_To be continued..._


End file.
